There are many issues that prevent NBA 2K14's My Team mode from being fun: unreliable servers, online input lag, unreasonable card prices, a lack of compelling single player content, duplicate players that must be immediately discarded, no way to trade, sell or buy cards directly from other users.

But My Team's biggest annoyance, arguably, is the lack of variety that exists in online opponents' lineup. For a mode that contains over 500 different player cards, it is sad to see the same 10 to 15 players taking the court in every head-to-head matchup. The standard online team consists of:

• Guard: Gary Payton, Penny Hardaway or Jerry West
• Guard: Michael Jordan
• Forward: Kevin Durant
• Forward: LeBron James
• Center: Shaquille O'Neal or Wilt Chamberlain

Bench players barely matter in My Team, as most superstars have a high stamina rating, which allows them to play all four six-minute quarters without needing much, if any, rest.

What My Team needs most, is something that every significant American sport besides Major League Baseball already has: a salary cap.



When developer Visual Concepts first experimented with the idea of letting sports gamers assemble a fantasy team, the company did so with a "talent cap" in place. In 2007's All-Pro Football 2K8, Visual Concepts required gamers to build their dream team using a blueprint of two "gold" tier players, three "silver" tier players and six "bronze" tier players.


A similar team-building structure could easily be implemented into NBA 2K14. Adding a seventh bronze player to the existing model of three silver players and two gold players would complete a twelve-man NBA roster. For gamers who want to use one of NBA 2K14's superpowered "sapphire" or "diamond" cards, the second gold slot could simply be replaced by an eighth bronze card.

Currently, silver players serve little purpose in My Team. Bronze players at least have some use in Domination mode, where an all-bronze lineup is the easiest way to achieve the coveted three-star rating. But in Road to the Playoffs, which is the only online mode in My Team outside of the weekly tournaments, silver and bronze players are presently useless.

As great as guys like Dennis Schröder (bronze) and Danny Green (silver) can be when matched up against similarly tiered players, their physical limitations prevent them from competing with Hall of Fame athletes like Payton, Pippen and Jordan.

Restricting the number of superstars per team would cause starting lineups to more closely resemble a real NBA roster, plus it would also allow My Team newcomers to field a competitive squad without having to spend millions in virtual currency.


Without five ironmen on the court at all times, teams would also be forced to sub in more reserves and carefully manage mismatches, placing a greater emphasis on coaching strategy. Presently, the only strategies coaches need to succeed at My Team are knowing how to shoot fadeaways and up-and-unders out of the post, as well as knowing how to turbo dribble all the way to the rim for a cheap foul or posterizer dunk.

Would you be excited to play a My Team mode modeled after All-Pro Football 2K8? Or would you rather keep your fantasy teams free of all restrictions? Let Operation Sports know what style of My Team you'd most like to play.