Even though the NBA season is on hold for now, the Phoenix Suns are still finding ways to play basketball.
On March 12, the Suns announced on Twitter that they would continue to play out their season … on NBA2K20. They would stream it on Twitch, on their official channel. They would play along with their schedule set before the start of the season, except for the Mavericks game set for March 14, which was moved back to Friday the 13th.
The season isn’t over yet…
We will continue to play the Suns season games on @NBA2K!
Saturday’s game will be moved to tomorrow. Join us live on @Twitch as we take on the @dallasmavs! pic.twitter.com/745QIuvCMc
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 13, 2020
Now, since that game has been played, let’s look at the way this game was played, how successful it was, and if this will have any impact on the Suns, the streaming service Twitch, or if any other teams will follow suit and emulate the Suns.
Before the Game
The original tweet from the Suns received much fanfare. The tweet received 8.9K likes, while a normal Suns tweet normally receives about 800-1,000. Soon after this, the Suns clarified their original tweet, saying that no, this game would not count for or against the original record, and yes, all players on the Suns’ roster would be healthy for the game. They also announced the streamers for both teams; Phoenix would be represented by UniversalPHE2K, who is a current NBA 2K league player for Grizz Gaming, while Dallas would be represented by YoBuddy, who is the brand ambassador for the Mavs’ 2K League team, Mavs GG. The stage was set, and there was a large amount of fanfare in anticipation of the game.
The Game
The game, overall, was a huge success. At one point, over 12,500 viewers joined the stream, ranking in the top 10 of Twitch streamers online for that day. The game was entertaining too, as it was a high scoring affair, and was generally well-received by both NBA fans and Suns fans, although they fell to the Mavericks 136-150. Luka Doncic, or at least the virtual version of him, finished with 50 points and 19 assists and was by far the star of the game.
What Happens Next?
While this seems like a gimmick by the Suns to draw attention, this actually could have positive benefits on the NBA as a whole. While the Suns may have used experienced 2K players, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see them bring in real players on the Suns’ roster to increase views. In fact, star SG Devin Booker has his own Twitch account. Not only that, but the Suns may have seen the success that this team has, and this may convince ownership to put money into a 2K league team. The 2K league already has success, with 365 million total views over 23 teams, and the Suns may want to throw their name in the hat and try to win a 2K championship. Additionally, the Suns are a small-market team. If bigger teams take an interest, such as the Lakers or the Knicks, the practice of streaming games, whether they be for this season, or in the future the 2K league, NBA fans may decide to tune in, benefitting both the NBA or Twitch as a company.
And who knows? Maybe we will see other sports take notice, and use their game affiliates, such as Madden for the NFL, or MLB The Show for the MLB, and eventually, we may see sports and games intertwined like never before.
