NBA 2K11 - Air Jordan on Cover! Playable?

Jan 29, 2009
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ESPN, citing multiple unnamed sources, says 2K Sports is pursuing basketball's greatest player ever, Michael Jordan, for the cover of NBA 2K11 and may have plans to feature him as a playable character in the game.

Jon Robinson, ESPN's sports gaming columnist, adds that he's "heard whispers" that 2K has been in negotiations with Jordan's teammates and opponents to appear in NBA 2K11. That fuels speculation that Jordan will be playable in the game, at least in recreated his iconic career moments - such as his 44 points and game-winning jumper against Cleveland in the first round of the 1989 playoffs, or the shoulder-shrugging 35-point first-half performance against Portland in the 1992 NBA Finals. Or berating Kwame Brown during practice in his second comeback with the Washington Wizards.

Robinson also notes that, if Jordan does make the cover, it'll be the first time any team executive has appeared on the cover of a sports video game. Jordan is the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

I emailed 2K Sports who, understandably, hasn't answered the request for comment. It's a good bet more on this will be known at E3 next month.

Though up-and-comers like Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans have been rumored for the slot, 2K's cover decision might be motivated by the publisher's need to outdo itself. Last year's NBA 2K10 featured Kobe Bryant. There's only one player to go to if you're trying to top Bryant, after a championship year no less, and if LeBron James said no thanks, only a hall-of-famer like Jordan would represent a step up. 2K Sports has spared little expense or effort to defend its marquee title's top-of-the-heap status, so pursuing Jordan would be very much in character for them.

But when I heard 2K was considering an awesome dunker with ties to Charlotte's NBA franchise, I thought they were gonna stick Rex Chapman on the cover. Still no love for the original Hornets. Sad.
 
yeah 2k was garbage for last year ... I played the 2k draft combine, man it sucked ... 2k control scheme is whack ... and the new LIVE aka Elite may be whack this year too with the new scheme ... I got my fingers crossed tho.

---------- Post added at 10:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 PM ----------

wow didnt notice the 2nd page of replies, so my reply seems bashingly off-topic .... sorry, anyways if its got Jordan its got me .... but so does Elite ;)
 
I cant believe these assholes are going to force me to buy this game ... *prays for improved mechanics*
 
:hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:



Me too! someone actually said "Too much tongue on the cover" lol I don't think that person ever really saw Jordan play, he used to do that all the time!

yeah, no kidding. I still don't know how he made through his career without biting his tongue off while driving into the lane and getting hit in the mouth.
 
:hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:



Me too! someone actually said "Too much tongue on the cover" lol I don't think that person ever really saw Jordan play, he used to do that all the time!

He did that to make it 100000000x easier to pick up women standing next to no-nose Scottie Pippen.
 
Just thought I'd mention on the top 20 games most anticipated NBA 2k didnt even make the list and Elite made the list in the top 10! :p

/troll
 
What can I say? EA has a thing for attracting fools year after year ;)

lol besides NBA 2k ... all other 2k games are TOTALLY GARBAGE ... 2k is us slight garbage :p

Jordan has made it decent, hence my future purchase ;p
 
We don't need your contribution sir, you can stick with that other EA garbage called NBA Elite! :D

Here's a cool mode that will be included in NBA 2K11

When it arrives Oct. 5, NBA 2K11 will feature a 10-game "Jordan Challenge" that recreates Michael Jordan's most famous performances. Here's a breakdown of each game, its significance, and what you must do - plus one very notable omission.

The Arrival
When and Where: April 20, 1986. Game 2, 1st round playoffs vs. Celtics, at Boston Garden.
Goal 1: Score 63 points or more
Goal 2: Shoot 50 percent or better from the field
Skinny: Although the Bulls lost this game against one of the greatest Boston teams ever, you wouldn't tell it by the way Jordan's showstopping 63-point performance is remembered. After the game, Larry Bird said the Celtics were playing "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

69 Points
When and Where: March 28, 1990. Regular season game vs. Cavaliers, Richfield Coliseum
Goal 1: Score 69 points or more.
Goal 2: Shoot 50 percent or better from the field
Goal 3: Win the game
Skinny: Jordan averaged 44 points versus Cleveland in the 1989-1990 season, scored 54 points against them in the season opener, and had buried the Cavs' playoff dreams a year before. Yet Jordan himself considers this staggering 69-point performance his best ever. Teammate Stacey King would say later: "I'll always remember this as the night Michael Jordan and I combined to score 70 points."

Shootout
When and Where: Any date in 1990, a regular season game vs. Hawks
Goal 1: Outscore Dominique Wilkins
Goal 2: Hold Dominique under 25 Points
Goal 3: Win the game
Skinny: There is actually no game played between Chicago and Atlanta in 1990 that matches these conditions. (The closest is this one, Jordan scoring 36 points to the Human Highlight Reel's 26.) But 2K Sports clearly wanted to put in a showdown between the league's pre-eminent scoring superstars, at the height of their rivalry.

Bad Boys
When and Where: May 26, 1990. Game 3, Eastern Conference Finals vs. Pistons, Chicago Stadium
Goal 1: Score 47 points or more
Goal 2: Win the game
Skinny: This game will likely serve as the basis for The Jordan Rules in NBA 2K11. The year before, Chicago had taken a surprising 2-1 lead in the 1989 Eastern Conference finals against the hated Detroit Pistons, who then rolled out the bruising "Jordan Rules" strategy that targeted the superstar and dared the Bulls to beat them with the supporting cast. When these two hooked up in the 1990 Eastern Conference finals, Detroit deployed the same aggressive tactics en route to a 2-0 lead, before getting torched for 47 in Game Three, the only one Chicago would win of this series.

1991 NBA Finals
When and Where: June 2 thru June 12, 1991 vs. Lakers, Chicago Stadium and the Great Western Forum
Goal 1: Average 31.0 points or more for the series
Goal 2: Shoot 55 percent or better from the field
Goal 3: Win the series
Skinny: Magic vs. Michael made the 1991 Finals appointment television for five games, especially after the Lakers stole Game One in Chicago. The highlight will undoubtedly be Jordan's unbelievable switched-hands layup in Game Two (and Scott Williams raising his arms triumphantly despite loafing up the court on the break and not being involved in the play at all.)

The Shrug
When and Where: June 3, 1992. Game 1, 1st round playoffs vs. Blazers, Chicago Stadium
Goal 1: Score 35 points or more in the first half
Goal 2: Make 6 or more three-pointers in the first half
Goal 3: Hold Clyde Drexler to fewer than 20 points for the game.
Goal 4: Win the Game
Skinny: After hitting his sixth three-pointer in a scorching 35-point first-half performance, Jordan shrugged to NBC's Marv Albert at the scoring table, as if to say he didn't know how he does it either. The Bulls annihilated Portland 122-89 to open the series, but had to tough out a six-game win to repeat as champions.

Double Nickel
When and Where: March 18, 1995. Regular season game vs. Knicks, Madison Square Garden
Goal 1: Score 55 points or more.
Goal 2: Shoot 55 percent or better from the field.
Goal 3: Win the game
Skinny: After his father was murdered following the Bulls' first three-peat in 1993, a numb Jordan retired, citing a desire no longer to play basketball, and to pursue a childhood dream of playing professional baseball. The one year experiment didn't work, and in 1995, Jordan returned to a listless Bulls team with a two-word announcement. "I'm back." Six games into his return, wearing No. 45, his baseball uniform number, Jordan cemented his reputation for delivering big-game performances almost at will, with a jaw-dropping 55-point night in the most famous arena in the world.

Father's Day Victory
When and Where: June 16, 1996. Game 6, 1996 Finals vs. Sonics, United Center
Goal 1: Score 22 points or more.
Goal 2: Grab nine rebounds or more.
Goal 3: Win the game
Skinny: In the first full season of his return, Chicago unloaded an NBA record 72 victory season and demolished the Eastern Conference in the playoffs, losing just one game before meeting Seattle in the Finals. Chicago took a 3-0 lead on the Sonics before letting Seattle back in with two victories, and his clinching performance - he shot 26 percent for the game - was not compelling. But Jordan winning his fourth NBA title, clutching the basketball at midcourt, and weeping on the floor of the locker room on Father's Day, is.

The Flu Game
When and Where: June 11, 1997. Game 5, 1997 Finals vs. Jazz. Delta Center.
Goal 1: Score 38 points or more.
Goal 2: Grab 7 rebounds or more.
Goal 3: Win the game
Skinny: Arguably the greatest individual performance under duress in the history of championship sports. Sick with the flu, the Bulls playing in a hostile Delta Center and facing a 3-2 series deficit, Jordan summoned a 38-point effort and the game-winning three point basket, making the most emphatic demonstration of his famous will to win. "No matter how sick I was, how tired I was, I felt the obligation to my team and the city of Chicago to go out, and give that extra effort," he said. Chicago won its fifth NBA title in the next game.

Michael's Last Dance
When and Where: June 14, 1998. Game 6, 1998 Finals vs. Jazz. Delta Center.
Goal 1: Score 45 points or more.
Goal 2: Get 4 steals or more.
Goal 3: Win the game.
Skinny: If only it ended here. Jordan's game winning shot for the 87-86 win, and sixth NBA championship, was a storybook finale too good to be true. And it was. Instead of being the last shot he'd ever take, Jordan would return from retirement again three years later, for two forgettable seasons with the Washington Wizards. But his game-winning shot for a sixth NBA title, set up by a steal from Karl Malone with the Jazz up by one, is the only way to end this series of indelible moments.

MISSING: The Shot
When and Where: May 7, 1989. Bulls vs. Cavs, Game Five of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs. Richfield Coliseum
Skinny: It's perplexing why 2K Sports did not include "The Shot" - one of the most famous game-winners Jordan hit - in the 10-game Jordan Challenge. With the 1990 Cavaliers appearing in "69 Points," 2K Sports has the likenesses of all the personnel on the court for Jordan's fist-pumping, Game Five dagger to sink Cleveland in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The performance - 44 points, a game-winning basket - closely matches "Michael's Last Dance," so it would seem to be somewhat scriptable within The Jordan Challenge.

Asked why their game has no "Shot," 2K Sports' Jason Argent indicated it ended up on the cutting room floor. "There are so many amazing Jordan moments that it was very, very hard to choose, so we tried to pick the 10 we felt would be the most fun to play through," Argent said. "But with a legend like Mike, you can never really capture all the greatest moments"

I am so pumped for this!
 
For years, NBA 2K only featured a few pair of authentic Air Jordans in its equipment lineup. That changes with NBA 2K11, featuring His Airness in the game. Twenty-five models are available, and they carry attribute boosts.

Speaking to ESPN.com, producer Erick Boenisch says there will be 40 Nike varieties in the game, 25 of them Jordans, and players will earn them at random. Every couple of hours of gametime, or so, you'll get a new pair at random. "Your timer is always running and shoes are always unlocking."

Rarer varieties will carry bigger attribute boosts. They may be used in any game mode, but they'll be especially useful in the singleplayer career mode and the MJ: Creating A Legend career variant that gives you control of Jordan in today's league.

2K Sports released several screenshots today showing Jordan and his kicks in action, as well as current stars with their shoe models. The screens also showcase new shot varieties that branch out of the game's new animations, such as running across the lane and transitioning into a shot.

:oohyeah::scat:
 
2K Sports is publishing its NBA 2K11 demo on Tuesday, three weeks in advance of the game's Oct. 5 drop. The publisher has normally waited until much closer to launch to release a demo.

The demo is available on Sept. 14 for the 360 and PS3 over their download services. Players will get a single five-minute quarter of the Celtics against the Lakers on default pro difficulty. 2K provided no other details, announcing the demo on the game's Facebook page.

Last year's demo for NBA 2K10 came out only days before the main game's release. That was partly because of Draft Combine, a package of paid DLC introducing gamers to the debut of the My Player singleplayer career mode. This year, Draft Combine's elements will be integrated into My Player's second year makeover.

Additionally, today 2K Sports confirmed over Twitter that the main game will feature a halftime show, presented by Damon Bruce of San Francisco's KNBR-AM sports radio. Bruce hosts the station's postgame shows for its San Francisco Giants, 49ers and Golden State Warriors broadcasts. 2K Sports is based in Novato, Calif., north of San Francisco.

"You'll see a great halftime presentation next week," 2K Sports tweeted. This doesn't mean in the demo, but rather in some new videos that will show off this and other features.
 
Right as im from England im no basketball whiz kid or anything but i do enjoy watch the NBA , much more when i was in L.A in June when the finals were on (loved it)...
I have played NBA Live before etc , but im curious as to which game you guys over the pond think is better of the two franchises .. thanks
 
Right as im from England im no basketball whiz kid or anything but i do enjoy watch the NBA , much more when i was in L.A in June when the finals were on (loved it)...
I have played NBA Live before etc , but im curious as to which game you guys over the pond think is better of the two franchises .. thanks

it's a toss up each year, I like to play the demo's then choose from there, let me get back to you after i play the demos.