For years, NBA2K has been the calling card for sport-savvy gamers everywhere. The popular video game features elaborate graphics, exclusive soundtracks with talent like Travis Scott and fashion fit for the flashiest of post-game pressers. However, there was one thing missing — women.
Now for the first time ever, NBA2K20 will include all 12 WNBA teams in this year's edition of the game, a move that Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker says fulfills a childhood dream for many.
"When you're younger, you dream of having your own sneaker and being in a video game," Parker said. "Those are the two childhood dreams. And now, women are able to realize both of them."
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The decision to include women in the historically all-male video game comes during a time of fierce efforts towards equality for all female athletes. 2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart hopes the game will give the league a wider range of visibility.
"There are a whole bunch of gamers in the world," Stewart said. "And who knows? Maybe they've never watched a WNBA game before, but now that they have the ability to play with us in 2K20, maybe they'll play with us and then maybe they'll watch us."
For Parker, who has been a frontrunner in the league and fight for equality for nearly a decade, the progress is slow, but steady.
"I think it’s a process," Parker said. "I remember being asked when I was a rookie: what is your goal in your career? It's to leave to game better than when I came into it. And I think that, even though it has been a long process, I think that's happening and the conversation is happening."
For Stewart, the representation will make the most impact, something she says might have made her own WNBA dreams a little easier to realize as a kid.
"When I was growing up, it wasn't as easy to watch women's basketball on TV — you just weren't as in-tune with it," Stewart said. "And if I could have played a video game and been Lisa Leslie or Sheryl Swoopes, then you know a lot more about the people and it makes the connection easier."
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The announcement of the inclusion of women in NBA2K20 leaves just one more question to be answered — who will have the highest WNBA rating? Stewart has her sights set on the number one spot.
"I hope I have a good rating. I need a 90-something," Stewart said. "LeBron has what? Like 98? I need to be 98."
NBA2K20 will be released worldwide on September 6, 2019.
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