NBA 2K16 News Post

Dear Sports Media: Real Steph Curry Would Beat Video Game Steph Curry

01:35 PM - December 8, 2015 by ChaseB

"He’s playing like it’s a video game out here."

If you’ve watched the Warriors play on national television or read any number of articles by any number of basketball writers, you’ve read or heard some sort of amalgamation of “playing like a video game” in comparison to Steph Curry. But here’s the thing: people who play simulation basketball video games would never stand for Steph’s shenanigans.

The moment any number of some of Steph’s ill-advised, downright terrible shots went in, many would be screaming “LAZY DEVS!” or “THIS GAME’S BROKEN” or would immediately head into the sliders menu to start tweaking things.

People at Operation Sports understand that sometimes the absurd and unlikely does actually happen in the NBA, which is why this thread in the NBA 2K forum is one of my favorites in a very long time. The “If This Would Have Happened In 2K Thread” is great because it encompasses all the absurd ways video game players would speak out against the NBA if it were happening in a video game.

Of course, it’s all meant to be tongue-in-cheek comments, but it’s also a not-so-subtle way to point out that all the ways we try to control our video game experiences via sliders and difficulty levels and so on still fly in the face of how great players and teams can make us all look like fools for trying to be overbearing, stat-obsessed loons when we have a controller in our hands.

But this is not about the rest of the NBA, this is about the man who owns the NBA right now: Steph Curry. So after the jump, let’s chat more about Curry and how he would make you rage quit your favorite NBA video game.

Read More - Real Steph Curry Would Beat Video Game Steph Curry

Game: NBA 2K16Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 45 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 jeebs9 @ 12/08/15 01:56 PM

Nice write up! I totally agree.

I think they nerf him. Or users don't know how to play with him. You would think someone like him would be easy to play with. But he is far from that. If you thought he missed badly in ranked games. Try playing a game in a league with custom sliders. I've seen people struggle badly with one of the greatest shooters of the NBA.

# 2 scottyp180 @ 12/08/15 02:02 PM

This is a great article and 100% accurate. Most people on OS are so concerned with games being simulation and as realistic as possible that I think people sometimes forget that ridiculous things happen in real life and they might happen more often than we think. Steph Curry is the perfect case and point. On a given night he is likely to do at least one thing that is unexplainable and video game like.

The crazy thing I find ironic is that it is difficult to play like real life Curry in 2k. I've tried nearly every time I've used the Warriors since the game released. Usually my logic is to take control of Curry and create some space using dribble moves, a screen, or running a set play for curry, then once I'm open shoot the ball or drive. It seems like in real life this is nearly an automatic for Curry. Whether he has the shot or not chances are he's taking it and usually it is more surprising if he misses rather than making the shot. Now in 2k, maybe I try to spam to much and I know I don't have the timing down, but in my experience it is difficult to take ove and dominate with Curry like he does in real life (although the cpu usually kills me whenever I play him). I feel like it's one of those things where if Curry could easily dominate it would be cheese an unfair even though he basically is cheese and unfair in real life.

# 3 Guard-ian @ 12/08/15 02:06 PM

I can not agree more with the writer. I have been talking with my friends on how the year that Curry is playing like in a videogame in the real world his courterpart in 2k16 is very 'difficult' to say it softly, no one in our league can shoot consistently with him...

I think a new 'Chicken with Curry' Badge should be created or something...

Cheers!

# 4 ksuttonjr76 @ 12/08/15 02:28 PM

Personally, I mostly ran into good GSW users in PNO. Steph Curry is a beast! I remember throwing every single defensive scheme that I could think of to stop him (Pacers). Steph Curry manhandled my defense, and still scorched my team for 30+ points. Honestly, Curry is a videogame glitch, and I don't see how people CAN'T shoot with him.

What's scary...I REALLY believe that his individual ratings can go up even more than they are now.

# 5 Mikelopedia @ 12/08/15 02:43 PM

Love this haha

Now getting CPU Curry to play like Curry is a whole nother thing!

What I've had some success with is this:
-raise shot tendency to 100
-raise shot under basket tendency to 45
-lower shot close tendency to 15
-lower mid range shot tendency to 25
-raise 3 point shot tendency to 100
-raise contested shot tendency to 100
-raise stepback shot tendency to 100
-raise pull up in transition tendency to 100
-raise triple threat shoot to 99
-raise setup with sizeup to 55
-lower drive tendency to 55
-lower shot IQ rating to 75 (this helps him take "bad shots")
-add gold corner specialist badge
-add gold fade ace badge
-add all gold ball handling badges
-change play types to:
Priority 1: 3 pt
Priority 2: Pick and Roll Ball Handler
Priority 3: Isolation
Priority 4: Handoff

You also need to lower everyone else's touches a little bit so that they run more plays for Steph even though he's already at a 99.

I played the Indiana matchup last night (12 min quarters, superstar sim with my custom gameplay tweaks) and he dropped 41 on me on 27 shots, 6 for 11 from 3. Lost by 2, PG13 had 35 :/

# 6 BA2929 @ 12/08/15 03:51 PM

Usually when a writer or tv personality says “playing like a video game” or "putting up video game numbers!", the last basketball game they played was NBA Jam or NBA Street.

In some aspects, NBA 2k is more "realistic" than real life.

I mean, people on here expect to shoot no more and no less than 45-50% from the field, 35-40% from 3 and 90% from the line. Every. Single. Game.

# 7 DatIsraeliGuy @ 12/08/15 03:53 PM

He's essentially god at this moment...

# 8 DBAB23 @ 12/08/15 04:20 PM

The real Steph Curry is basically zig zag cheese and step back 3 cheese and any other 2K bug we have seen over the last few years. With the exception 2K fixed the bugs in the game, no one can fix this in real life. Dude is insane, and tearing up the entire basketball universe.

# 9 ViolenceFight @ 12/08/15 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DBAB23


	The real Steph Curry is basically zig zag cheese and step back 3 cheese and any other 2K bug we have seen over the last few years. With the exception 2K fixed the bugs in the game, no one can fix this in real life. Dude is insane, and tearing up the entire basketball universe.

This is why the 45 threads about 2k16 being broken and people using Curry's shooting as reasoning were pointless. There's no way to replicate the stuff steph does in real life without ruining game balance.

Not even to mention this dude takes some of the most atrocious shots I've ever seen a guy take....and he drains them. For a game that wants to promote Sim play, you're telling the programming that a shot inside a certain radius around the defense is a "bad" shot. You're not contesting curry unless you're literally in his t shirt In real life.

# 10 J_Posse @ 12/08/15 05:30 PM

I think his insane offensive run is why they need to add a tier above gold for the badges. Steph having a "platinum" badge for many of his skills would help in further seperating his above elite shooting and scoring ability, right now.

Also, as unfair as it may be current Steph Curry deserves all A or A+ ratings in all shooting categories except for in the post. He's truly on an incredible tear that we haven't seen (for a perimeter scorer) since MJ or LeBron in their physical & mental prime. And neither of those two can touch Steph from the outside.

from Spurs Nation/Bills Backer HQ

# 11 ksuttonjr76 @ 12/08/15 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViolenceFight


	This is why the 45 threads about 2k16 being broken and people using Curry's shooting as reasoning were pointless. There's no way to replicate the stuff steph does in real life without ruining game balance. Not even to mention this dude takes some of the most atrocious shots I've ever seen a guy take....and he drains them. For a game that wants to promote Sim play, you're telling the programming that a shot inside a certain radius around the defense is a "bad" shot. You're not contesting curry unless you're literally in his t shirt In real life.

Steph Curry is a videogame anomaly due to his real life performance. If 2K Sports "matched" the videogame version to his real life counterpart, then there would be no stopping him. I could see someone jacking 20+ 3's a game with him just because they can.

# 12 Caelumfang @ 12/08/15 07:09 PM

Seriously, I really want you all to sit here and think about if they decided to make Steph make the junk he throws up in real life. Can you even imagine the screams for a patch because everyone picking the Warriors or using Steph in MyTeam would be jacking about 40+ threes, most contested, and dropping them like crazy.

Be careful what y'all wish for, because you just might not like the result.

# 13 Optik @ 12/08/15 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViolenceFight


	Not even to mention this dude takes some of the most atrocious shots I've ever seen a guy take....and he drains them.

If they're high percentage shots relative to the NBA average then you can't call them "atrocious" shots. Yeah, they would be for anyone else but for him they're just very makeable. That's one of the things that makes Curry special. When Kobe was making those shots (and they weren't really the same because he wasn't speeding down the court and stopping on a dime to pop a 3, he was just taking stand-still jumpshots) in his prime, they were bad shots because Kobe often took a ton of shots on bad efficiency, and for every one of those miracle shots he made, he missed a ton. Whereas with Curry, those aren't miracle shots for him because he makes them on a routine basis and he often gets 40 on less than 20 shots. One could argue that it's actually less exciting watching Curry make those shots than it was for Kobe because for Curry it's so routine, nothing he does comes as a surprise.

# 14 ViolenceFight @ 12/08/15 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optik


	If they're high percentage shots relative to the NBA average then you can't call them "atrocious" shots. Yeah, they would be for anyone else but for him they're just very makeable. That's one of the things that makes Curry special. When Kobe was making those shots (and they weren't really the same because he wasn't speeding down the court and stopping on a dime to pop a 3, he was just taking stand-still jumpshots) in his prime, they were bad shots because Kobe often took a ton of shots on bad efficiency, and for every one of those miracle shots he made, he missed a ton. Whereas with Curry, those aren't miracle shots for him because he makes them on a routine basis and he often gets 40 on less than 20 shots. One could argue that it's actually less exciting watching Curry make those shots than it was for Kobe because for Curry it's so routine, nothing he does comes as a surprise.

I'll be the first to say most of Kobe's shot selection is bad too.

Hit or miss, A shot in a guy's face off a step back is not the look I want my offense taking. A shot 9 seconds into the shot clock, off the dribble, full speed pull up is a bad shot. I get that hitting them makes the kid special, but to say that those are even close to quality because they dropped is inssne from any sort of fundamental aspect. Hitting a shot, even if it's a multitude of them the same way, doesn't make them good shots.

It makes Curry amazing, and I'll never argue that. Kid is playing out of his mind, and he's so locked in I'm pretty positive he could get the ball off the in bound, throw it backwards over his head from full court and bury it. Wouldn't make it a quality shot, though

# 15 Optik @ 12/08/15 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViolenceFight


	I'll be the first to say most of Kobe's shot selection is bad too. Hit or miss, A shot in a guy's face off a step back is not the look I want my offense taking. A shot 9 seconds into the shot clock, off the dribble, full speed pull up is a bad shot. I get that hitting them makes the kid special, but to say that those are even close to quality because they dropped is inssne from any sort of fundamental aspect. Hitting a shot, even if it's a multitude of them the same way, doesn't make them good shots. It makes Curry amazing, and I'll never argue that. Kid is playing out of his mind, and he's so locked in I'm pretty positive he could get the ball off the in bound, throw it backwards over his head from full court and bury it. Wouldn't make it a quality shot, though

If someone is hitting a particular shot on a high percentage with a large enough sample size, objectively speaking, that's a good shot for that player. It doesn't matter whether it was "good basketball" or not.

Look at LMA's post fade. He's being guarded by someone usually as tall, if not taller than him and he's taking a heavily contested shot on what's essentially an isolation play. How many people have you heard say that's a bad shot. Funnily enough he made a higher percentage of these shots than from mid range last season.

Look at Dirk's post fadeaway. You always hear coaches and commentators say it's such a good shot because it's a 7fter and no one can guard it. It's still an isolation play and he's still not "open".

Why can't it be the same with Curry? People have said that he has the best combination of shooting and handles the game has ever seen. He has one of the quickest releases ever at 0.4 seconds. It's hard to contest a shot that quick. He's 6'3 so it's not like it's inhuman (I know...weird thing to say about Curry) for him to be getting off these shots in the NBA. There are good reasons why these are objectively good shots for him to take. Curry is basically a stats guy's dream. He's the evidence (albeit just one person) to backup what these guys have been arguing for years and that is that teams need to take more 3pt shots, even if they look "bad".

Side note - What I've noticed down the stretch or when behind is that Curry subverts the traditional school of thinking (which is to take your time and eat up the clock) and takes early shots (really early, like 5 seconds into the shot clock). What often happens is that the Warriors will just get the rebound the 3 if it misses and get lots of second chance points.

# 16 ViolenceFight @ 12/08/15 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optik


	If someone is hitting a particular shot on a high percentage with a large enough sample size, objectively speaking, that's a good shot for that player. It doesn't matter whether it was "good basketball" or not. Look at LMA's post fade. He's being guarded by someone usually as tall, if not taller than him and he's taking a heavily contested shot on what's essentially an isolation play. How many people have you heard say that's a bad shot. Funnily enough he made a higher percentage of these shots than from mid range last season. Look at Dirk's post fadeaway. You always hear coaches and commentators say it's such a good shot because it's a 7fter and no one can guard it. It's still an isolation play and he's still not "open". Why can't it be the same with Curry? People have said that he has the best combination of shooting and handles the game has ever seen. He has one of the quickest releases ever at 0.4 seconds. It's hard to contest a shot that quick. He's 6'3 so it's not like it's inhuman (I know...weird thing to say about Curry) for him to be getting off these shots in the NBA. There are good reasons why these are objectively good shots for him to take. Curry is basically a stats guy's dream. He's the evidence (albeit just one person) to backup what these guys have been arguing for years and that is that teams need to take more 3pt shots, even if they look "bad". Side note - What I've noticed down the stretch or when behind is that Curry subverts the traditional school of thinking (which is to take your time and eat up the clock) and takes early shots (really early, like 5 seconds into the shot clock). What often happens is that the Warriors will just get the rebound the 3 if it misses and get lots of second chance points.

Good basketball is good basketball. Bad shots are bad shots. Bad shots that drop, are still bad shots. Curry drains bad shot. It's a shot he can hit, but objectively I'd pull my hair out every time he shot it if I was his coach.

I'd give him the green light to shoot. I'm not stupid, he's the best player on the planet right now, I'd be a moron to tell him to quit.

I'd still cringe every time he let's it fly in most of the situations. Case in point: Warriors vs. Clippers, Curry's ridiculous dribbling through all 5 clippers, turn around, step back, money.

Cut to Kerr, he's ready to murder steph when he releases, and then he has the "Damnit, I can't even be mad because he hit it" expression on his face. Steph is flat out an anomaly. Coaching wise I'd use his shots as examples of when to NOT shoot the ball. Period.

That being said, I appreciate the debate, but I'll offer to agree to disagree with you. I will not change my view on this. I'm watching the Warriors right now and steph and Klay are hitting shots they should have no business hitting. This team is nuts

# 17 TarHeelPhenom @ 12/09/15 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikelopedia


	Love this haha Now getting CPU Curry to play like Curry is a whole nother thing! What I've had some success with is this: -raise shot tendency to 100 -raise shot under basket tendency to 45 -lower shot close tendency to 15 -lower mid range shot tendency to 25 -raise 3 point shot tendency to 100 -raise contested shot tendency to 100 -raise stepback shot tendency to 100 -raise pull up in transition tendency to 100 -raise triple threat shoot to 99 -raise setup with sizeup to 55 -lower drive tendency to 55 -lower shot IQ rating to 75 (this helps him take "bad shots") -add gold corner specialist badge -add gold fade ace badge -add all gold ball handling badges -change play types to: Priority 1: 3 pt Priority 2: Pick and Roll Ball Handler Priority 3: Isolation Priority 4: Handoff You also need to lower everyone else's touches a little bit so that they run more plays for Steph even though he's already at a 99. I played the Indiana matchup last night (12 min quarters, superstar sim with my custom gameplay tweaks) and he dropped 41 on me on 27 shots, 6 for 11 from 3. Lost by 2, PG13 had 35 :/

Trying these out. Im currently watching cpu vs cpu GSW-MIA and in the 1st quarter Steph has 13pts on 5-7 fg...3-4 from behind the arc. Anxious to see his final stat line.

# 18 raidertiger @ 12/09/15 01:49 AM

This is why online hurts the Warriors. Curry can't play like he does because he'd be too OP.

Seriously I thought this game was a simulation? Apparently not.

And for those who say "learn how to use him", that's BS. Curry's shots would be graded as a D-F in this game.

# 19 jeebs9 @ 12/09/15 03:52 AM

Bad shots shouldn't go in. Period!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

# 20 Hustle Westbrook @ 12/09/15 09:18 AM

Thank God. I couldn't fathom playing cheesers with no skill running around with Stephen Curry throwing up garbage every game.

Right after the Charlotte game I played some clown that thought he was gonna drop 40 on me with Steph Curry. His entire game consisted of zig-zagging and pick and rolls, which inevitably got locked up, which ultimately led to his rage quit.

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