The concept is similar to the Ultimate Jordan mod I've had in the works for NBA Live 2005-08 (and would like to do for NBA 2K11) as well. Basically, all the current teams are replaced by historical teams, celebrating Kobe Bryant's career. MJ's 15 year career neatly fits the 30 NBA teams as it allows for 13 Bulls teams, 2 Wizards teams, and an opponent for each of those squads. Kobe's 20 year career doesn't line up as conveniently, but it's still possible to do something special to honour the late, great, future Hall of Famer.
This roster will feature 11 Lakers squads that Kobe was a part of, ranging from 1998 (his sophomore season and first year as an All-Star) to his final season in 2016. The remaining teams will be made up of 19 opponents, one for each of those Lakers teams, with some teams having more than one opponent. I've picked the opponents based on scenarios and classic games, such as his 81-point performance against the Raptors, 62 points in three quarters against the Mavericks, 61 points against the Knicks in the Garden, and his five championship teams.
One of the cool things about this project is that a lot of assets are already available for it, so once the 2020 season roster is done, it should come together quite quickly. The fact that there are duplicate players - not unlike NBA 2K11's Jordan Challenge - certainly helps here.
Here's a preliminary list of teams that I've set up to include in the roster:
- 1998 Lakers
- 1998 Bulls
- 2000 Lakers
- 2000 Blazers
- 2001 Lakers
- 2001 76ers
- 2002 Lakers
- 2002 Kings
- 2002 Nets
- 2003 Lakers
- 2003 Wizards
- 2004 Pistons
- 2004 Lakers
- 2006 Lakers
- 2006 Raptors
- 2006 Spurs
- 2006 Mavericks
- 2009 Lakers
- 2009 Magic
- 2009 Nuggets
- 2009 Rockets
- 2009 Cavaliers
- 2009 Knicks (February 2nd)
- 2010 Lakers
- 2010 Suns
- 2010 Celtics
- 2013 Lakers
- 2013 Clippers
- 2016 Jazz
- 2016 Lakers
A couple of screenshots to give you an idea. Keep in mind I haven't done anything with ratings as this is all preliminary work, and I've just duplicated players already in the rosters. As such, they have their default, accurate as of 2011 ratings, rather than proper ones.
So yeah, just a quick preview for now, but something I'd like to do once the current roster is done. It feels like only a fitting tribute, and should be fun, difficult as the situation still is to process.
