Stephen Curry is so good, even his video game avatar can’t keep up.
In a recent article from Forbes, NBA 2K gameplay director Mike Wang detailed how the skills of the Golden State Warriors star don’t easily transfer into video games.
“To be completely honest, we are still looking for ways to better translate his game into NBA 2K,” Wang said. “He’s a ‘rule breaker’ when it comes to jump shooting … he becomes a problem in the video game world where we’ve been trying to train our gamers [to know] that certain types of shots should be rewarded versus others.”
We at Sportsnet thought it would be fun to find some of the best video game athletes. Whether it’s insane speed or incredible muscle, these five players gave any video game player a near guaranteed win.
5. Martin Brodeur — NHL 2003
Coming off an Olympic gold medal and on his way to his second Stanley Cup win, Brodeur was as good as it gets in NHL 2003. Despite having only a 90 rating (one less than Roberto Luongo that year) he still stood on his head, playing more of a hybrid style than his regular stand up.
A personal favourite of mine was when I used Brodeur to score a goal on another goalie in a game between Team Canada and Belarus. His shot was as good as his saves.
4. Ichiro Suzuki — MLB The Show ‘11
Ichiro has been one of the best hitters in baseball for most of this decade, but his real superpower in MLB The Show is his defence. With a 97 speed rating, a 97 arm strength rating and a 95 reaction rating, it was near impossible to hit extra bases when Ichiro was in the field. His speed allowed him to run from centre field to the corners, giving players comfort that their bad pitching wouldn’t cost them games.
3. Shaquille O’Neal — NBA Live 2000
Shaq being a giant made him absolutely dominant on the virtual court. In NBA Live 2000, his inside scoring rating was 99. Whenever a ball came in the paint, no one was stopping him from jumping up and finishing the play. Other players would bounce off this giant of a man and it gave players at home an easy two points every time.
2. Marshall Faulk — Madden 2003
In Madden 2003, Faulk was both on the cover and the best player in the game with a 99 rating. All the quarterback had to do was hand Faulk the ball and he couldn’t be tackled. Like Shaq, defences bounced off him as he ran down the field, scoring touchdowns at will.
1. Mario Lemieux — NHL 94
The debate about who was better, Gretzky or Mario, was all the rage in the 90s. NHL 94 seemed to pick a side, giving Lemieux a 100 rating that year and Gretzky only an 87. This made Lemieux a force to be reckoned with. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be scored on by Lemieux after he pushed his way to the front of the net. And when he didn’t have the puck, Lemieux was fast enough to chase down opponents and knock them off the puck.
