So I have played and simmed through many seasons in MyGM as well as MyLeague and I must say that I was left very unimpressed. The league expansion and 'unique' rule changes each year add a new element to the game, but it was not enough to keep me wanting more.
I have always thought that player progression and regression were the biggest issues and after 5 seasons, the mode seemed broken. Either I had created a powerhouse by building through the draft or by signing regressed superstars to one year deals. I had always thought ratings/progressions should be dynamic and simply determined off of advanced statistics. The problem here is that it takes way too long to make mid/post season attribute changes, even with the quick edit.
However, I've found a solution that has been working well and makes the game feel like real life. Former lottery picks now fall out of the league after 3 seasons while late first round picks (and even a few second round picks) evolve into top 5 players at their positions. Guys who are in the mid to high 70s expect $18M+ (this happens by default but now it's actually warranted) and can make or break franchises. In a nutshell, the 'league' is more dynamic and unexpected but realistic things happen.
As a note to start: I have my current sliders set to All-Star and my Player Progression at 50; Player Regression at 78; In-Season Training at 68 and Player Non-Financial Ambitions at 99. I also have my injury severity at 78. This method would still work with the default settings, but progression may not happen enough to keep the variance of the current NBA 5 years down the road.
The Rules:
*For this method to work most effectively, you need to expand the NBA to 36 teams. This will ensure that drafted rookies have the most opportunities to play early (this will be very important).
*Now you will need to edit your draft classes. This aspect takes the most time (about 15 minutes, depending on how detailed you get) but it is the most important aspect. You want to create a draft class that is capped at 80 overall but has at least 30 players with 70+ overall (I just keep generating classes until I get one with about 20 pre-generated 70+ rookies).
*Once you edit your rookies overall you want to sort the draft class by potential. Use quick edit to decrease any potential that is better than a C+. I typically give the top 30 prospects about 2 points of growth during their rookie (If a prospect is a 79 then I'll set potential to 80 or 81, however if a prospect is below 72, I set their potential to 72). Once you have your draft class with the low potential ratings, you are ready to move into gameplay.
*Obviously you can play or sim the games, but I always sim the first season. Once you get to the playoffs you have a little more work to do (again, takes about 15 minutes). First you want to go the 'Rookie Report' and sort the rookies by their Efficiency Rating. (I spent way too much time creating a formula to create a player's potential rating, so I'll spare you the detail). Essentially you can take the player's EFF rating and add 70 to it. Thus a rookie who has an 18 EFF rating, would get his potential increased to 88. This gives you the dynamic element of progression and it also leaves a chance that a player may or may not reach their peak.
You can also do this for younger players (25 or younger) who are not already superstars. *By using the EFF rating plus 70 to determine potential, you will run into some players (I have not had it happen with a rookie yet) that have an EFF rating of 30+. These are typically current NBA superstars, thus there is no need to edit their potential.
This obviously works off of rookies (and younger players) seeing a decent amount of minutes, thus the need to expand the NBA to 36 teams (increased injury severity also gives rookies a better chance at seeing the court). This gives a more realistic feel as you can no longer look at a rookies player card, check his potential and determine whether he is worth drafting/playing. Like in real life, a player's potential is unknown and any player can have a breakout season.
I hope this helps make MyLeague a more enjoyable game mode, and hopefully 2K incorporates some type of algorithm like this in 2k18 (or maybe even patch 17).
Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!
I have always thought that player progression and regression were the biggest issues and after 5 seasons, the mode seemed broken. Either I had created a powerhouse by building through the draft or by signing regressed superstars to one year deals. I had always thought ratings/progressions should be dynamic and simply determined off of advanced statistics. The problem here is that it takes way too long to make mid/post season attribute changes, even with the quick edit.
However, I've found a solution that has been working well and makes the game feel like real life. Former lottery picks now fall out of the league after 3 seasons while late first round picks (and even a few second round picks) evolve into top 5 players at their positions. Guys who are in the mid to high 70s expect $18M+ (this happens by default but now it's actually warranted) and can make or break franchises. In a nutshell, the 'league' is more dynamic and unexpected but realistic things happen.
As a note to start: I have my current sliders set to All-Star and my Player Progression at 50; Player Regression at 78; In-Season Training at 68 and Player Non-Financial Ambitions at 99. I also have my injury severity at 78. This method would still work with the default settings, but progression may not happen enough to keep the variance of the current NBA 5 years down the road.
The Rules:
*For this method to work most effectively, you need to expand the NBA to 36 teams. This will ensure that drafted rookies have the most opportunities to play early (this will be very important).
*Now you will need to edit your draft classes. This aspect takes the most time (about 15 minutes, depending on how detailed you get) but it is the most important aspect. You want to create a draft class that is capped at 80 overall but has at least 30 players with 70+ overall (I just keep generating classes until I get one with about 20 pre-generated 70+ rookies).
*Once you edit your rookies overall you want to sort the draft class by potential. Use quick edit to decrease any potential that is better than a C+. I typically give the top 30 prospects about 2 points of growth during their rookie (If a prospect is a 79 then I'll set potential to 80 or 81, however if a prospect is below 72, I set their potential to 72). Once you have your draft class with the low potential ratings, you are ready to move into gameplay.
*Obviously you can play or sim the games, but I always sim the first season. Once you get to the playoffs you have a little more work to do (again, takes about 15 minutes). First you want to go the 'Rookie Report' and sort the rookies by their Efficiency Rating. (I spent way too much time creating a formula to create a player's potential rating, so I'll spare you the detail). Essentially you can take the player's EFF rating and add 70 to it. Thus a rookie who has an 18 EFF rating, would get his potential increased to 88. This gives you the dynamic element of progression and it also leaves a chance that a player may or may not reach their peak.
You can also do this for younger players (25 or younger) who are not already superstars. *By using the EFF rating plus 70 to determine potential, you will run into some players (I have not had it happen with a rookie yet) that have an EFF rating of 30+. These are typically current NBA superstars, thus there is no need to edit their potential.
This obviously works off of rookies (and younger players) seeing a decent amount of minutes, thus the need to expand the NBA to 36 teams (increased injury severity also gives rookies a better chance at seeing the court). This gives a more realistic feel as you can no longer look at a rookies player card, check his potential and determine whether he is worth drafting/playing. Like in real life, a player's potential is unknown and any player can have a breakout season.
I hope this helps make MyLeague a more enjoyable game mode, and hopefully 2K incorporates some type of algorithm like this in 2k18 (or maybe even patch 17).
Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!
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