'NBA 2K' has a cover curse, and it's about players leaving

-

Sports have a history of curses: the Curse of the Billy Goat, the Curse of Lil B, the Curse of Colonel Sanders (no, really). The most notable curse for sports video game fans is the Madden curse, where an NFL player becomes a cover star for a Madden NFL installment, and then they get injured during the season. Tom Brady, who will be on the cover of Madden NFL 18, did his best to debunk the notion of curses by breaking mirrors and walking under a ladder.

For a while, we all thought the Madden curse was the only sports video game-related curse. But a Twitter user named Eric Fawcett noticed something peculiar about NBA 2K’s covers over the last few years, especially in the wake of early reports Kyrie Irving wanted the Cavaliers to trade him. Almost every currently active player that’s been featured on the NBA 2K cover since 2013 has left their team at some point in the future.

And the curse has continued in 2018. DeMar DeRozan,

NBA 2K14 (2013): LeBron James leaves the Heat and goes back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.

NBA 2K15 (2014): Kevin Durant leaves the Thunder and goes to the Warriors in 2016.

NBA 2K17 (2016): Paul George leaves the Pacers and goes to the Thunder in 2017.

NBA 2K18 (2017): Kyrie Irving is traded to the Celtics before the game even releases.

(Yep, this has happened before. EA Sports had to put out a printable cover for Madden 09 after Brett Favre joined the Jets.)

NBA 2K18 (2017) (Canadian version): DeMar DeRozan is traded to the Spurs in a deal that brings Kawhi Leonard to the great white north.

The only omissions from this trend are James Harden, Anthony Davis, and Stephen Curry, who were on different covers of NBA 2K16 in 2015, and are still kicking it with the Rockets, Pelicans, and Warriors, respectively. DeMar DeRozan looked like a safe bet after he was placed on the Canadian cover of NBA 2K18 thanks to a contract that linked him to Raptors through the 2020-21 season, but he turned out to be the fulcrum that made Leonard’s departure from Texas possible.

So maybe this is all a weird coincidence that most of the NBA 2K cover athletes in recent years would leave their teams in a year or two, or there really is a 2K curse and it’s a messed up version of the tagline from the 2006 movie Stay Alive: “You get featured on the cover, you leave for real.”

Dope article from sbnation.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Black-ish' Star Anthony Anderson, Celebrities, and Athletes Celebrate African Americans in Golf

-
Image
Golf is more than a game, it’s a business tool played by executives, an overwhelming majority of Fortune 500 CEOs , and almost every single U.S. president since the 1900s. But while it’s known as the playground for forging business deals and professional relationships, it’s also a notorious good ol’ boys club that has historically excluded African American men and women. However, Wendell Haskins, the founder of Original Tee Inc. , and PGA of America’s former senior director of Diversity & Inclusion, Sports & Entertainment, is changing the game. Haskins, like many African American boys, did not grow up playing golf. In fact, he wasn’t exposed to the sport until he was in his 20s when a friend invited him to a golfing event in New Mexico back in the ’90s. To prepare for the trip, he took lessons, practiced his stroke, and read about the rich history of the game. That’s when he discovered that a black dentist was responsible for creating the modernized wooden golf tee. “The go
Read more

11 Ways Black Professionals Are Turning Up Labor Day Weekend

-
Image
Mark our words when we tell you that there is no other place on earth that celebrates black men the way that we do. And if you were at the Black Men XCEL Summit last year, you know that there ain’t no party like a BMX party because a BMX party don’t stop! From Aug. 29 – Sept. 2, black professionals are planning on playing just as hard as we plan on working to find solutions that will uplift black men in every area of their lives. After all, what better time is there to turn up than Labor Day weekend and what better place than in sunny Florida?! We know you’re probably thinking of a few places, but, best believe when we tell you that there is no other place that you should be than with us. From spa treatments to back-to-back parties, you are guaranteed to let loose and live your life. If you couldn’t tell, we’re hype about being less than a month away from all of the festivities! And as you ladies and gentlemen get ready to pack your bags and head to Palm Beach Gardens we wanted
Read more

Rapper YG Donates $150,000 to GirlCodeLA

-
Image
Rapper and entrepreneur YG donated $150,000 to startup company GirlCodeLA to help usher in a generation of Los Angeles girl coders. YG is setting out to create more opportunities for future female entrepreneurs and that can be attributed to his close relationship with business partner Karen Civil . Though YG is readying the release of his hotly anticipated album, Stay Dangerous , the West Coast MC has still found time to uplift his community. “Gender bias plays a role in the amount of exposure students receive in regards to technology and coding, says YG. He adds, “This leads to influence future decisions within their field, creating smaller opportunities for diversity. With my donation, I hope they’ll be able to expand their reach of future female coders and programmers.” GirlCodeLA is an organization that is aimed to develop and continue to expose young women to computer science, business, and software engineering. All participants have the opportunity to learn, understand, and
Read more