NBA2K has added all-time teams to its collection for this year’s game. They announced the all-time teams and left a few omissions for the Orlando Magic.
NBA2K announced the full roster for their all-time teams Thursday, adding another exciting element to their video game.
Fans have spent a lot of time trying to put together their ideal all-time teams. I offered my list for Orlando Magic Daily when the new feature of all-time teams was announced.
It seemed like there were a few slam dunks to make the team and then some good debate over the bench players. And playing with the all-time Orlando Magic, featuring a lineup that is sure to include Shaquille O’Neal, Tracy McGrady, Anfernee Hardaway and Dwight Howard, sounds like a lot of fun.
And the whole crew looks great in action in the trailer released Thursday:
The Magic may very well be one of the more popular teams to play as. Or, at least, the ideal or real All-Time Magic team would be. There are some unfortunate realities in putting together a video game.
NBA2K has the rights to all members of the NBPA. But apparently, they have to get individual likeness rights to all historical players. That means not everyone has signed up. Charles Barkley, for instance, has not agreed to be in NBA2K and so he does not appear in the game in any form — with the Phoenix Suns or Philadelphia 76ers. That is a glaring omission.
And there are a few similar glaring omissions with the Magic’s all-time team. Still, the all-time Magic team turned out pretty decent:
Here are your @NBA2K All-Time #Magic. Some interesting omissions and additions: pic.twitter.com/bifJt70MSQ
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) August 24, 2017
The glaring omissions are Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. They were the only two players from my earlier list of 13 players that did not make the final team. They were replaced with current players Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon. Brian Shaw and Steve Francis took the other two spots on the 15-man roster.
It appears any of these exclusions are because individual players have not signed the rights agreement with the NBRPA (the retired players association) or an individual agreement with NBA2K to be included in the game.
Their replacements are sure to raise some questions too. But overall, adding in a current player in Nikola Vucevic makes the most sense.
Including Vucevic is not super far-fetched. Vucevic has been a stalwart for the team for five years. He has produced statistically at least to rank among the best in several all-time categories for the Magic.
Aaron Gordon, at this point, is more an aspirational inclusion. Or it might have been necessary considering the number of players available.
Surprisingly, Tracy McGrady is the highest individually rated player on the team at 95. Anfernee Hardaway, Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal all come in at 93 right behind him.
Here is a look at the depth chart:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anfernee Hardaway | Tracy McGrady | Grant Hill | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O’Neal |
| Jameer Nelson | Dennis Scott | Nick Anderson | Aaron Gordon | Horace Grant |
| Darrell Armstrong | Steve Francis | Brian Shaw | Bo Outlaw | Nikola Vucevic |
The 2K crew certainly could have worked to find a better third string small forward instead of loading the roster up with five point guards. Brian Shaw, who averaged 6.7 points and 4.6 assists per game in three seasons with the Magic, is the biggest head scratcher in the bunch. Especially since he is rated an 81 ahead of even Gordon.
Aside from Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis, NBA2K could have picked up Mike Miller (who is still an active player and had two historic MyTeam cards in 2K17) or Vince Carter (still an active player too). Unless the rights deals have changed for these players or for the use of their historic likenesses, they seemed like better selections than Shaw.
Even Arron Afflalo might have been a stronger pick for the Magic than Brian Shaw.
Scott Skiles might have a claim to enter the team and so too might Rony Seikaly or even Donald Royal.
But the 2K crew did a good job putting this team together with the players they had available. Outside the Lewis and Turkoglu omissions, this is a strong team of former Magic players.
Next: Top five NBA JAM duos for 2018 Orlando Magic
Will you be playing as the all-time Magic on NBA2K18?