All the details of the Jordan Challenge mode

GAME AUTHENTICITY

Basketball has evolved tremendously over the past 40 years. Improving the Jordan Challenge on-court experience has been a top priority for the team this year. The Jordan Challenge isn’t just a modernized version of the game with classic teams and uniforms. We’ve explored, researched, and made major changes to the game to fit every era, so that every game is a time travel through NBA history.

First, the game was much slower in Jordan’s time. In 1980s games, you will notice that the game focuses much more on post and mid-range play. This is possible thanks to slider settings, AI, trends and game tactics specific to that era. We also changed our transition game for the 1980s. The transition lanes there are narrower and more players cut to the basket with a power play, instead of the search for three-point shots that characterizes the NBA. today.

You can replicate the patterns of some of the greatest coaches in NBA history: Jack Ramsay, Hubie Brown, Dick Motta, Lenny Wilkens, Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Rick Adelman and many more. Defensively, we’ve revamped our matchup logic so that when Jordan plays Dominique Wilkins, they go head-to-head and try to outplay each other in the Shootout challenge. For other games, you will discover more complex cross matches. When playing Jordan against the Cavaliers, Winston Bennett defends on Jordan, Jordan takes on Craig Ehlo, Ehlo defends on Scottie Pippen, and Pippen defends on Bennett. If you are able to score points efficiently enough, Ehlo will take over the defense against Jordan.

The basketball of the 1980s and 1990s was much more physical than today, which is faithfully reproduced in the ground game and on the racket. Hand contact and hard hitting make one-on-one duels look completely different than today’s more fluid game. We have also ensured that all rules (like illegal defense) are accurately represented for each particular encounter. Playing with Jordan against the Detroit “Bad Boys” is arguably the most obvious example of old school basketball physicality. The Pistons will use their famous “Jordan Rules”.

When it comes to distinctive styles, we’ve made the biggest improvement yet. Magic Johnson treats us to his back passes, and many iconic players have all-new jump shots, double steps, and dunks. We’ve also done everything we can to make sure our dribbling and finishing moves are right for the times. This means that moves like the “shammgod” crossover and “euro-step” layups are not present in Jordan Challenge matches. And of course, the Jordan Challenge wouldn’t be complete without capturing some of the great moments everyone remembers: Jordan’s famous shrug against Portland, the flu game of the 1997 finals, the shot at Ehlo and Jordan’s famous winning basket over Bryon Russell to win his last league title. These are just a few of the memories that have been faithfully recreated in NBA 2K23.

We paid attention to every detail and more to create the Jordan Challenge. The end result is a breathtaking recreation of a bygone era that you are sure to enjoy! Below is a detailed look at each challenge and the story behind those moments.