NBA 2K17 Features League Expansion

Feature Article

Submitted on: 07/19/2016 by Erick Boenisch

Hello everyone! For those of you that don’t know me already, my name is Erick Boenisch, Senior Producer on NBA 2K17. Many of you may know me by my online handle, SimBaller. I’d like to be the first person to welcome you to NBA 2K17! The team here at Visual Concepts has been working relentlessly on this year’s game, and I’m extremely proud to show you one of the new features that we know you will all really enjoy.

NBA 2K17 features a simplified menu system that is both beautiful and streamlined. All of the modes within MyGM / MyLEAGUE feature an elegant setup flow that will guide you through the creation of your completely customized league, step-by-step.

For anyone who has read my blogs in the past, you know that I am serious about MyGM and MyLEAGUE. I'm blessed to work with a core group of people who share the exact same level of passion. We've done a LOT of work to these modes this year, and one feature I can't stop talking about is...League Expansion. This is entirely new to NBA 2K17, and is the feature I want to tell you about today.

League Expansion is, as it sounds, a way to grow your league beyond the 30-team NBA. When creating a new MyGM or MyLEAGUE, you have a few options on how you can handle the setup of your new league:

- Start with the current 30-team NBA, as it is structured now.

- Start a league with Expansion where you can instantly expand the league from 30 up to 36 teams (all with designs of your choosing).

- Or, you can start with a completely customized league (that can still include up to 36 teams) that may include realigned divisions, Expansion Teams, Classic teams, Edited/Rebranded NBA teams, Euroleague teams, and more.

The League Expansion feature allows you to create a league with up to 36 teams (with 6 teams being Expansion teams). For those wanting to exert more freedom, Custom League allows you to create a league with a mixture of Current NBA Teams, Classic NBA Teams, Expansion Teams, and Euroleague Teams.

Every possible configuration you could want is now at your fingertips. And I have more features to make the expansion process even easier for you. If creating all of the art assets for the team logo, arena, and uniforms is more than you can handle, I have two alternatives for you. First, we have 10 pre-built fictional franchises (complete with full audio and commentary support) built right in to the game. Pick your favorite one and off you go. Alternatively, you can now download complete team designs from the community in NBA 2K17. For example, if you know that you want your expansion team to be a Seattle Supersonics franchise, you can search through community uploaded team designs and instantly download one right into your new MyGM/MyLEAGUE. It couldn’t be simpler.

For my franchise heads out there, you already know that a proper league expansion is more than just new logo/uniform/stadium art. The entire experience surrounding the game has to support it. We’ve covered every detail required for a proper league expansion, including player protections, expansion drafts, and much, much more. A considerable amount of time was spent this year building an NBA schedule creation tool that dynamically generates balanced schedules with respect to your 31/32/33/34/35/36 team leagues. We then created dynamic menus for every menu in the game including the Draft Lottery and the Draft, with respect to how many teams are in the league. For example, when you have a 32-team league, that means you now have 16 teams in the lottery (up from the current 14), and all the mathematical odds of getting the #1 pick that go along with that new Draft Lottery format need to be updated. Simply put, we left no stone unturned, and we did it all for your enjoyment. Immerse yourselves.

For Expansion Teams, you can choose to: 1) Design your own team logo, uniform, and arena from scratch, 2) You can populate your league with a selection of fictional expansion teams we have built from the ground-up (complete with full audio and commentary support), or 3) You can browse Team Designs that other community members have uploaded. With only the press of a button, these Team Designs can easily be downloaded an inserted directly into your league.

League Expansion isn’t just a feature you can use when setting up your league. You can dynamically expand your league in the offseason, even after the mode has already started! Additionally, the league will approve expansion franchises dynamically on its own as you get further into your franchise. When that happens, you’ll need to make tough decisions about which of your players you want to protect, and which will need to be exposed for the impending Expansion Draft. It won’t happen very often, but when it does, it will shake up your league, without a doubt! For the MyLEAGUE users out there, you will have the ability to contract previously expanded expansion teams, should you choose to do so.

MyGM/MyLEAGUE has seen a LOT of great additions this year; I’ll get into the rest of those details a little closer to launch. We’re always looking for ways to innovate in the franchise space, and following on the heels of Team Relocation in NBA 2K16, League Expansion feels like the natural evolution moving forward with NBA 2K17. Let me know below how you plan on using the League Expansion feature. I’m excited to hear what everyone’s plans are!

Stay tuned folks, we’re just getting started here with the news drops for NBA 2K17…

Erick Boenisch

aka SimBaller

Member Comments

# 261 jbrew2411 @ 07/27/16 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYJin2011tm


	They had expansion in Madden 2002 when the Texans came into the league. You could use the Texans or a created team. Always liked that feature. Never understood why they only kept it in the game just that one season. With expansion 2k17 went from maybe wait and see to must buy for me now.

Yeah I played the heck out of Madden 2002 because of that.

# 262 astone1996 @ 07/27/16 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trackball


	A few years ago, someone on Yahoo proposed a three-way trade of team nicknames. Then real-life name changes screwed it all up. New Orleans Jazz Charlotte Hornets Utah Bobcats

Great Call. Can call a team from South Carolina the Pelicans or a team from Daytona Beach. I'm planning on giving Vancouver and Seattle teams, Myrtle Beach a team, Nashville, Lexington, and West Virginia a team. Names for a West Virginia team?

# 263 Godgers12 @ 07/27/16 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astone1996


	Great Call. Can call a team from South Carolina the Pelicans or a team from Daytona Beach. I'm planning on giving Vancouver and Seattle teams, Myrtle Beach a team, Nashville, Lexington, and West Virginia a team. Names for a West Virginia team?

Sasquatch? Mountaineers? Cougars? McCoys? Mustangs?

# 264 derrtyRedd @ 07/30/16 02:31 PM

What if they make the league randomly assign one ASW to one of the 16 top tier teams, I think that would be pretty cool. Instead of playing in the same arena every year

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# 265 Trackball @ 07/30/16 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derrtyRedd


	What if they make the league randomly assign one ASW to one of the 16 top tier teams, I think that would be pretty cool. Instead of playing in the same arena every year Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

That would be awesome, but they'd need generic artwork ready.

Not to mention the, uh...rather divisive circumstances involving the real-life location of this season's All-Star Game. (Please, let's NOT turn this thread into an argument about that. There are other forums for that.)

# 266 DatIsraeliGuy @ 07/30/16 03:41 PM

I remember deciding not to buy 2k17 after I bought every game since 2k9, then I saw one of my favorite options in 2k association mode (start today feature, really helps with waiting for good rosters) and Playoffs mode finally back.
Add the extra MyLeague things and say goodbye to 60 bucks.

# 267 Junior Moe @ 07/30/16 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trackball


	That would be awesome, but they'd need generic artwork ready. Not to mention the, uh...rather divisive circumstances involving the real-life location of this season's All-Star Game. (Please, let's NOT turn this thread into an argument about that. There are other forums for that.)

They could just let us edit the allstar weekend arena, city and uniforms with the robust relocation feature. Better yet, just let us download user creations.

# 268 King_B_Mack @ 07/30/16 11:32 PM

One thing I'd like to see is an improvement in arena creation. I'd like to be able to make changes to the arenas for teams without having to completely redo the entire thing.

As it stands right now, if I wasn't a fan of the Bulls' new court and wanted to give them the court they'd been using since the United Center opened, I can't recreate that because of the limitations in the creation feature. For example, the four Bulls logos inside the three point lines. The out of bounds text style.

Some times, teams make only minor changes to their courts. With 2K, you're forced to redo the entire arena from the ground up just to do something as minor as adding an arena name to the floor.

# 269 Junior Moe @ 07/31/16 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_B_Mack


	One thing I'd like to see is an improvement in arena creation. I'd like to be able to make changes to the arenas for teams without having to completely redo the entire thing. As it stands right now, if I wasn't a fan of the Bulls' new court and wanted to give them the court they'd been using since the United Center opened, I can't recreate that because of the limitations in the creation feature. For example, the four Bulls logos inside the three point lines. The out of bounds text style. Some times, teams make only minor changes to their courts. With 2K, you're forced to redo the entire arena from the ground up just to do something as minor as adding an arena name to the floor.

I really hope that we can either outright edit the arenas or "copy" them and make our edits. The only actual arenas I would do anything to are the Knicks and Celtics. And that's only edit the Knicks arena color, provided it still too light in 2K17, and name TD. That's it. I mainly want to edit the ad signs and stuff. Advertise NFL/MLB teams in the NBA cities that have them and stuff like Hollywood in LA; Disney in Orlando. Just personalize each place a bit more without doing a complete arena rebuild.

# 270 Scvllp @ 07/31/16 02:25 PM

Who do we need to ask to find out if we can use the Dream Team in MyLeague.

# 271 ramspeedkill @ 08/01/16 06:08 PM

so if i had 6 expansion teams than i will need extra 13(players each team) x 6 = 78 players, do we even have 78 players in FA list?

# 272 King_B_Mack @ 08/01/16 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramspeedkill


	so if i had 6 expansion teams than i will need extra 13(players each team) x 6 = 78 players, do we even have 78 players in FA list?

There would be an expansion draft to fill out the teams from the other teams in the league as well as the free agent pool

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# 273 Trackball @ 08/01/16 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramspeedkill


	so if i had 6 expansion teams than i will need extra 13(players each team) x 6 = 78 players, do we even have 78 players in FA list?

Here's how the expansion draft worked the last time it was used.

Charlotte Bobcats Expansion Draft Rules

# 274 Yuss @ 08/01/16 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramspeedkill


	so if i had 6 expansion teams than i will need extra 13(players each team) x 6 = 78 players, do we even have 78 players in FA list?

There's about 150 FA, so there's enough to even put a full 15 on each time.

# 275 vtcha @ 08/02/16 05:39 PM

Aside from starting the mode on the present date - is Start Today essentially the same as MyGM or MyLEAGUE?

# 276 CaseIH @ 08/02/16 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DatIsraeliGuy


	I remember deciding not to buy 2k17 after I bought every game since 2k9, then I saw one of my favorite options in 2k association mode (start today feature, really helps with waiting for good rosters) and Playoffs mode finally back. Add the extra MyLeague things and say goodbye to 60 bucks.

Thats how I was feeling, was going to sit out this yr on 17, or atleast not buy day1, but then I saw the Start Today mode back in the game, and th fact that the Aussie Nat team is in the game, which means Ryan Broekhof is in the game, so Im buying it. I use to be a season ticket holder for Valpo, and watch this kid grow up so with him and his team in Im buying it after all. I just hope they have fixed start today, so awards isnt screwed up like it use to be.

# 277 soamazen23 @ 08/02/16 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_B_Mack


	One thing I'd like to see is an improvement in arena creation. I'd like to be able to make changes to the arenas for teams without having to completely redo the entire thing. As it stands right now, if I wasn't a fan of the Bulls' new court and wanted to give them the court they'd been using since the United Center opened, I can't recreate that because of the limitations in the creation feature. For example, the four Bulls logos inside the three point lines. The out of bounds text style. Some times, teams make only minor changes to their courts. With 2K, you're forced to redo the entire arena from the ground up just to do something as minor as adding an arena name to the floor.

Totally agree.. I would like to make the paint at MSG NYK orange again.

# 278 Barncore @ 08/03/16 09:09 AM

I'm not getting hyped until i see core improvements to MyLEAGUE mode. Every year that bring these shiny new features that are really just surface level things, but MyLEAGUE mode is only as good as its depth & engine.

I actually hope they didn't put too much time into this. There are other more important fundamental things that require attention when it comes to MyGM and MyLEAGUE.

That said, the return of "Start Today" is cool.

# 279 derrtyRedd @ 08/09/16 05:09 PM

I wonder if we can just sign a team full of free agents rather than draft players from other teams? I'd love to just use free agents and build my team from the ground up

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# 280 Mauer4MVP @ 08/09/16 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnsey


	I'm not getting hyped until i see core improvements to MyLEAGUE mode. Every year that bring these shiny new features that are really just surface level things, but MyLEAGUE mode is only as good as its depth & engine. I actually hope they didn't put too much time into this. There are other more important fundamental things that require attention when it comes to MyGM and MyLEAGUE. That said, the return of "Start Today" is cool.

So you hope they didn't put too much time into a new feature which would only add to the problems in depth and engine that you talk about...

That doesn't make sense.

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