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2K Predicts The 2017-2018 NBA Season With Its Season Sim
The 2017-2018 NBA season kicks off tomorrow, October 17, with reigning champions the Golden State Warrior taking on the Houston Rockets. For the past couple years 2K, like every NBA 2K fan, has run full season simulations, fun and often unpredictable exercises in stats and skill. Today 2K puts out its predictions for the upcoming season based on their simulation results and basketball fans might find some surprises.
A lot of big trades happened over the past few months and many of those pay off big in 2K's season simulation. The Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets benefit the most, with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward pushing the Celtics to the championship finals and Chris Paul dishing out enough assists to bring the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals.
Other teams had more disappointing showings in 2K's season. Even with the added power of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn't make it to the Western Conference Finals. Russell Westbrook came away with the MVP award again, but it wasn't enough to get the Thunder a championship.
The simulation results also include season award winners. The Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons got Rookie of the Year, despite all the hype behind the Los Angeles Lakers' Lonzo Ball. The Rockets' Ryan Anderson got Most Improved Player, and Kevin Durant got Finals MVP, after putting up better season stats than the King himself, Lebron James.
No team could dethrone the Warriors. Golden State remained the top team in 2K's simulation, beating the Celtics in a five-game championship series.
For our review of NBA 2K18, click here.
Our Take:
As a casual basketball fan who enjoys the 2K games, the simulation mode is one of the most fun and interesting modes in NBA 2K. You can simulate entire seasons or the entire career of one player, and the results are always surprising in some way. It's great to see 2K get their own predictions out there, even if my hometown team, the Celtics, lose the championship. It's only a sim, right?
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