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trekfan · 08-29-2020, 12:48 PM

System/Game: PC/NBA 2K20
Mode: MyLeague
Rosters: Thunder Shaqs 2010 Roster
Sliders: Shady Mike’s with slight adjustments to progression and major adjustment to contracts (I prefer a sane contract level in the league, circa 2015/16 or so) -- injury frequency set to 34, severity to 35. Will adjust as needed.

Quarter Length: 10 Minutes
Sim Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Draft Class:

Classic draft classes, some downloaded, some based on edits I make to the (somewhat lackluster) historic classes. As we go on, the draft classes will get more accurate — I’ll be editing the injury ratings of some guys as well (both within roster and in draft class).

Season Length: 82 Games
Regular Season Rules: 20-24 user gamplay limit, rest simmed.
Playoff Rules: 2 playoff games (randomly determined by number generator, one must be in first four games) per series.
2 games allowed in NBA Finals (randomly determined by number generator, one must be in first four games)

Playoff Format: 7-7-7-7
Progressive Fatigue: Off (seems to be too much this year, so I've taken it off -- with chemistry and injuries still on, I anticipate the league will be fine, but will adjust accordingly as we go).
Team Chemistry: On

Chemistry effects, for both the team and player morale, are turned WAY down.

CPU Trades: Off
CPU Trade Approval: Off
Trade Override: Off
Control: 30 Teams, CPU automation for lineup/coaching tasks on every team but my primary; total control otherwise (roster moves, drafting, free agency, etc). No on goes to the G-League, as that place ups the the overalls of players far too fast.

Welcome to my newest dynasty thread! My last one, NBA2K Remix: Retro Stars in the Modern Era was fun, but I ended up losing my interest in it. Life happened (I bought a house, moved to a new state, moved in with my GF … things got crazy the last few months, but in a good way!) and as I was packing up my stuff, thinking about all the things that had happened over the years, I came across some notes from one of older dynasty threads — Defiance: The Odyssey of Ronald Bazemore.

Bazemore’s story also took place during a great life change for me too and it remains one of my favorite dynasties I’ve done. It had a lot of meaning, a lot of good writing, and more than anything it had characters I liked. The world I created there remains one of my favorites and as I was packing up my stuff, I began to think, “What’s happened since we last saw Coach Bazemore?”

And that’s why this story exists. I wanted to return to Bazemore and that cast of characters, I wanted to see where life had taken them and the NBA as a whole. So we’re going to pick up some years down the line, in the summer of 2010, as the NBA is about to undergo a massive change and one old coach gets the chance to take his place back on the sidelines with a challenge unlike any other.

As always, any and all comments are welcome. I hope you guys enjoy.

Now, with all that out of the way ... let's begin.

(Disclaimer -- all this is FICTION so don't assume any of it is real in any way, other than the game results anyway.)

The Many-Worlds Theory of quantum mechanics states that any action that has more than one possible result produces a split in the universe, producing a whole new reality that coexists with all the others.

In the summer of 1995 the NBA engaged in a brief lockout that lasted from July to September of that year. It ended just as it began; quietly and with much of the status quo retained.

But, what if the players had decided to fight the owners harder in that lockout? What if, the NBA, coming off two back to back-years of Jordan-less Finals, wasn't about to let the players push back?

What if the lockout had lasted longer ... ?

In this reality, it did. The NBA engaged in a season long lockout, wiping out the 1995-96 season and throwing the league into chaos. On May 19th, 1996, the NBA agreed to end the lockout between the players and owners, putting a set of rules in place that fundamentally altered the league. Changes from this singular event rippled through the timeline, altering everything that came after … and even some of what came before.

In the summer of 1996, the Miami Heat — then just a young expansion franchise, not even ten years old — hired a little known coach from overseas in Ronald Bazemore. In two years, marked by high risk, high reward moves, Coach Bazemore, Dikembe Mutombo, Dominique Wilkens, and a young Kobe Bryant led the Miami Heat to back-to-back titles.

But the world for Coach Bazemore changed when he found out he had fathered a young son and he left the NBA to care for him and the boy’s mother after the 1998 Finals. The league, however, continued on …

Summer 1998— the owners initiated another lockout of the players, resulting in no basketball until January of 1999. Pat Riley was hired as HC and GM of the Heat to replace Bazemore, but came into conflict with young star Kobe Bryant; Bryant demanded a trade and a three team deal was worked out between the Heat, Lakers, and Magic, resulting in Kobe and Shaq being on the Lakers, Alonzo Mourning and Reggie Miller on the Heat, and multiple young players and draft picks on the Magic.

1999 Finals— The stacked New York Knicks, led by Jordan and Ewing, advance to the Finals and bested the 8th seed San Antonio Spurs (who amazingly made it into the postseason and upset multiple contenders, including the new-look Lakers). The Knicks win in 5 games, giving Ewing and Jordan the title.

2000 Finals— The Knicks (after a brutal battle with the Heat in the ECF) face the Kobe and Shaq Lakers in the Finals; the series goes to seven games, but Jordan hits the game winner in Game 7 (over the outreached hand of poor Glen Rice).

Summer 2000— Tim Duncan, drafted by the Cavaliers, is a free agent and decamps from Cleveland — his decision comes down to two teams, the Spurs (who made a lucrative pitch and had an intriguing roster) or the Magic (who were signing Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill). Duncan opted for the Spurs.

2001 Finals— The Knicks once more make the Finals and face the Spurs once again, but this time with Tim Duncan; it’s a completely different series as New York, aging and battling injuries to Ewing and their bench, lose in five. After the series, Michael Jordan announces his retirement and will become President of Basketball Operations of the Wizards later that summer. Ewing will traded to the Magic before the end of the offseason and HC Phil Jackson will leave New York for LA.

2002 Finals— The Lakers are back in the Finals with HC Phil Jackson, as Kobe and Shaq have bested a gauntlet of West contenders — the Jazz, the Kings, then the Spurs, before reaching the Finals to face the Scottie Pippen led Bulls. Chicago, a 5th seed, went on an all-time run to drag their roster to the Finals but it’s not meant to be as the Lakers sweep. Pippen retires afterwards.

2003 Finals— The Spurs are back in the Finals and beat the Pistons in seven hard fought, ugly games.

Summer 2003— the vaunted NBA draft of 2003 plays out exactly as it did in our timeline. But Michael Jordan, two years removed from playing, decides he’s not done with basketball; with the talk that LeBron James and others in the draft class could approach him, he resigns his position as President of Basketball Operations with the Washington Wizards and suits up with the team to prove to everyone that he can still ball.

2003-04 Regular Season— the NBA welcomes its most hyped draft class plus the legendary Jordan into the league. Ratings are through the roof, but Jordan’s time with the Wizards is not good; Michael starts off the season rusty, plays himself into shape, and seems to have the Wizards right as they sit just barely above .500 at the all-star break. But Jordan’s knees can’t handle the load and he has to miss multiple games after the break with knee issues; the Wizards finish 10 games under .500 without him as Jordan’s frustration —with his aging body, with the front office, with the ownership — reaches a boiling point and he announces his retirement again, effective immediately at the end of the season.

For young NBA fans everywhere who never saw Jordan live, in his prime, it is a devastating loss — they only caught a glimpse of his greatness. Jordan retires and assumes he’ll get his previous job back, but the the owner of the Wizards will not offer it to him, further marring the experience for Jordan. He will call his comeback attempt, “A mistake” as the years go on.

2004 Finals— The Lakers make it back to the Finals and face the Pistons, who loaded up over the summer by acquiring Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups; Detroit beat the star-studded Lakers in five.

Summer 2004— Pat Riley trades for Shaq, after Kobe declares he wants out of LAunless Shaq is gone. Shaq happily agrees to a trade, tired of Bryant, and ends up in Kobe’s old stomping ground, promising the people of Miami that he’ll “win a title and not leave you in the dead of night”, referencing Bryant’s flight from Miami to LA over the 1998 lockout.

2005 Finals— The Spurs make it back and face the Miami Heat; Shaq loses to Duncan in 6 games, much to his chagrin and Miami’s.

2006 Finals— The Heat are back in the Finals and face the Mavericks, besting them in 6 because of Wade’s heroics.

2007 Finals— The Spurs are back, yet again, and this time face the LeBron-led Cavs. LeBron’s team, far less talented than the Spurs, is bested in a sweep. Duncan tells LeBron “this league will be yours soon” as the Spurs celebrate another title.

2008 Finals— The Lakers and Celtics are back at it. LA swung a trade for Pau Gasol in the offseason, giving Kobe his first superstar teammate since Shaq. The Celtics trade for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to form a super squad of their own with Paul Pierce. The classic NBA series goes seven games, as the Celtics win.

2009 Finals— The Lakers are back again and this time face the Magic, led by Dwight Howard. The two teams engage in a six game series but the Lakers win, getting Kobe his 4th ring.

2010 Finals— The Lakers face the Celtics again and the series goes seven games, a classic slugfest that ends with an offensive explosion as Kobe, playing in LA, goes off for a 35-7-9 night and LA walks out with a big win, giving Kobe his 5th ring (tying Jordan in this universe) and sending the rival Celtics home with nothing.

Summer 2010— the starting point of our story …

08-29-2020, 12:48 PM	#1
trekfan Designated Red Shirt OVR: 0 Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 5,795	House of 'Zards: Bazemore Returns System/Game: PC/NBA 2K20 Mode: MyLeague Rosters: Thunder Shaqs 2010 Roster Sliders: Shady Mike’s with slight adjustments to progression and major adjustment to contracts (I prefer a sane contract level in the league, circa 2015/16 or so) -- injury frequency set to 34, severity to 35. Will adjust as needed. Quarter Length: 10 Minutes Sim Quarter Length: 12 Minutes Draft Class: Classic draft classes, some downloaded, some based on edits I make to the (somewhat lackluster) historic classes. As we go on, the draft classes will get more accurate — I’ll be editing the injury ratings of some guys as well (both within roster and in draft class). Season Length: 82 Games Regular Season Rules: 20-24 user gamplay limit, rest simmed. Playoff Rules: 2 playoff games (randomly determined by number generator, one must be in first four games) per series. 2 games allowed in NBA Finals (randomly determined by number generator, one must be in first four games) Playoff Format: 7-7-7-7 Progressive Fatigue: Off (seems to be too much this year, so I've taken it off -- with chemistry and injuries still on, I anticipate the league will be fine, but will adjust accordingly as we go). Team Chemistry: On Chemistry effects, for both the team and player morale, are turned WAY down. CPU Trades: Off CPU Trade Approval: Off Trade Override: Off Control: 30 Teams, CPU automation for lineup/coaching tasks on every team but my primary; total control otherwise (roster moves, drafting, free agency, etc). No on goes to the G-League, as that place ups the the overalls of players far too fast. Welcome to my newest dynasty thread! My last one, NBA2K Remix: Retro Stars in the Modern Era was fun, but I ended up losing my interest in it. Life happened (I bought a house, moved to a new state, moved in with my GF … things got crazy the last few months, but in a good way!) and as I was packing up my stuff, thinking about all the things that had happened over the years, I came across some notes from one of older dynasty threads — Defiance: The Odyssey of Ronald Bazemore. Bazemore’s story also took place during a great life change for me too and it remains one of my favorite dynasties I’ve done. It had a lot of meaning, a lot of good writing, and more than anything it had characters I liked. The world I created there remains one of my favorites and as I was packing up my stuff, I began to think, “What’s happened since we last saw Coach Bazemore?” And that’s why this story exists. I wanted to return to Bazemore and that cast of characters, I wanted to see where life had taken them and the NBA as a whole. So we’re going to pick up some years down the line, in the summer of 2010, as the NBA is about to undergo a massive change and one old coach gets the chance to take his place back on the sidelines with a challenge unlike any other. As always, any and all comments are welcome. I hope you guys enjoy. Now, with all that out of the way ... let's begin. (Disclaimer -- all this is FICTION so don't assume any of it is real in any way, other than the game results anyway.) The Many-Worlds Theory of quantum mechanics states that any action that has more than one possible result produces a split in the universe, producing a whole new reality that coexists with all the others. In the summer of 1995 the NBA engaged in a brief lockout that lasted from July to September of that year. It ended just as it began; quietly and with much of the status quo retained. But, what if the players had decided to fight the owners harder in that lockout? What if, the NBA, coming off two back to back-years of Jordan-less Finals, wasn't about to let the players push back? What if the lockout had lasted longer ... ? In this reality, it did. The NBA engaged in a season long lockout, wiping out the 1995-96 season and throwing the league into chaos. On May 19th, 1996, the NBA agreed to end the lockout between the players and owners, putting a set of rules in place that fundamentally altered the league. Changes from this singular event rippled through the timeline, altering everything that came after … and even some of what came before. In the summer of 1996, the Miami Heat — then just a young expansion franchise, not even ten years old — hired a little known coach from overseas in Ronald Bazemore. In two years, marked by high risk, high reward moves, Coach Bazemore, Dikembe Mutombo, Dominique Wilkens, and a young Kobe Bryant led the Miami Heat to back-to-back titles. But the world for Coach Bazemore changed when he found out he had fathered a young son and he left the NBA to care for him and the boy’s mother after the 1998 Finals. The league, however, continued on … Summer 1998— the owners initiated another lockout of the players, resulting in no basketball until January of 1999. Pat Riley was hired as HC and GM of the Heat to replace Bazemore, but came into conflict with young star Kobe Bryant; Bryant demanded a trade and a three team deal was worked out between the Heat, Lakers, and Magic, resulting in Kobe and Shaq being on the Lakers, Alonzo Mourning and Reggie Miller on the Heat, and multiple young players and draft picks on the Magic. 1999 Finals— The stacked New York Knicks, led by Jordan and Ewing, advance to the Finals and bested the 8th seed San Antonio Spurs (who amazingly made it into the postseason and upset multiple contenders, including the new-look Lakers). The Knicks win in 5 games, giving Ewing and Jordan the title. 2000 Finals— The Knicks (after a brutal battle with the Heat in the ECF) face the Kobe and Shaq Lakers in the Finals; the series goes to seven games, but Jordan hits the game winner in Game 7 (over the outreached hand of poor Glen Rice). Summer 2000— Tim Duncan, drafted by the Cavaliers, is a free agent and decamps from Cleveland — his decision comes down to two teams, the Spurs (who made a lucrative pitch and had an intriguing roster) or the Magic (who were signing Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill). Duncan opted for the Spurs. 2001 Finals— The Knicks once more make the Finals and face the Spurs once again, but this time with Tim Duncan; it’s a completely different series as New York, aging and battling injuries to Ewing and their bench, lose in five. After the series, Michael Jordan announces his retirement and will become President of Basketball Operations of the Wizards later that summer. Ewing will traded to the Magic before the end of the offseason and HC Phil Jackson will leave New York for LA. 2002 Finals— The Lakers are back in the Finals with HC Phil Jackson, as Kobe and Shaq have bested a gauntlet of West contenders — the Jazz, the Kings, then the Spurs, before reaching the Finals to face the Scottie Pippen led Bulls. Chicago, a 5th seed, went on an all-time run to drag their roster to the Finals but it’s not meant to be as the Lakers sweep. Pippen retires afterwards. 2003 Finals— The Spurs are back in the Finals and beat the Pistons in seven hard fought, ugly games. Summer 2003— the vaunted NBA draft of 2003 plays out exactly as it did in our timeline. But Michael Jordan, two years removed from playing, decides he’s not done with basketball; with the talk that LeBron James and others in the draft class could approach him, he resigns his position as President of Basketball Operations with the Washington Wizards and suits up with the team to prove to everyone that he can still ball. 2003-04 Regular Season— the NBA welcomes its most hyped draft class plus the legendary Jordan into the league. Ratings are through the roof, but Jordan’s time with the Wizards is not good; Michael starts off the season rusty, plays himself into shape, and seems to have the Wizards right as they sit just barely above .500 at the all-star break. But Jordan’s knees can’t handle the load and he has to miss multiple games after the break with knee issues; the Wizards finish 10 games under .500 without him as Jordan’s frustration —with his aging body, with the front office, with the ownership — reaches a boiling point and he announces his retirement again, effective immediately at the end of the season. For young NBA fans everywhere who never saw Jordan live, in his prime, it is a devastating loss — they only caught a glimpse of his greatness. Jordan retires and assumes he’ll get his previous job back, but the the owner of the Wizards will not offer it to him, further marring the experience for Jordan. He will call his comeback attempt, “A mistake” as the years go on. 2004 Finals— The Lakers make it back to the Finals and face the Pistons, who loaded up over the summer by acquiring Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups; Detroit beat the star-studded Lakers in five. Summer 2004— Pat Riley trades for Shaq, after Kobe declares he wants out of LAunless Shaq is gone. Shaq happily agrees to a trade, tired of Bryant, and ends up in Kobe’s old stomping ground, promising the people of Miami that he’ll “win a title and not leave you in the dead of night”, referencing Bryant’s flight from Miami to LA over the 1998 lockout. 2005 Finals— The Spurs make it back and face the Miami Heat; Shaq loses to Duncan in 6 games, much to his chagrin and Miami’s. 2006 Finals— The Heat are back in the Finals and face the Mavericks, besting them in 6 because of Wade’s heroics. 2007 Finals— The Spurs are back, yet again, and this time face the LeBron-led Cavs. LeBron’s team, far less talented than the Spurs, is bested in a sweep. Duncan tells LeBron “this league will be yours soon” as the Spurs celebrate another title. 2008 Finals— The Lakers and Celtics are back at it. LA swung a trade for Pau Gasol in the offseason, giving Kobe his first superstar teammate since Shaq. The Celtics trade for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to form a super squad of their own with Paul Pierce. The classic NBA series goes seven games, as the Celtics win. 2009 Finals— The Lakers are back again and this time face the Magic, led by Dwight Howard. The two teams engage in a six game series but the Lakers win, getting Kobe his 4th ring. 2010 Finals— The Lakers face the Celtics again and the series goes seven games, a classic slugfest that ends with an offensive explosion as Kobe, playing in LA, goes off for a 35-7-9 night and LA walks out with a big win, giving Kobe his 5th ring (tying Jordan in this universe) and sending the rival Celtics home with nothing. Summer 2010— the starting point of our story … __________________ *Any comments are welcome.* Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History) Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty) You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete) Second Coming (2K16 Sonics MyLeague - Complete) The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete) Last edited by trekfan; 10-01-2020 at 02:14 PM.