NBA 2K16 2K Pro-Am Interview with Jeff Thomas

We recently had an opportunity to interview Jeff Thomas, vice president of sports development at Visual Concepts to discuss some more details about the new 2K Pro-Am mode in NBA 2K16. While we had many questions from the OS community, most of them could not be answered at this time, due to details on other modes yet to be announced. With that said, enjoy the quick interview and let us know what you think.



Operation Sports: The trailer showed both an arena environment (10 players)as well as a Rec Center environment (40 players). Can you choose which settings to play in? How is that coordinated?



Jeff Thomas: The Pro-Am Arena is the new four court arena. The custom arenas are for team play exclusively. Team play can happen both in the Pro-Am arena and In your Team’s custom arena. All Walk-On play takes place in the Pro-Am Arena.



OS: Can anyone on your Pro-Am team work on the colors and arena, or does the creator handle that? Can you assign people to assist?



JT: Only the team owner can manage the arena design and customization.



OS: Can we be a part of multiple teams/squads?



JT: Yes you can!



OS: If I only have 3 users in my team for Pro-Am, can I still play and have computer players as the other two players on our team, or do you need to make sure you have your team of 5 players?



JT: You can play with 3 players and 2 A.I. players.



OS: Will our MyPLAYERs have exclusive ratings and overalls to the Pro-Am that differ from MyPark?



JT: No.

OS: How do the leaderboard rankings work? Is it determined by win percentage, games played, record and/or region? Can you give us some more details on what the leaderboards track?

JT: Rankings are determined by an ELO rating system.



OS: If you decide to switch your crew, will you lose all your individual stats and will it affect your ranking on the leaderboard?

JT: No you will not.

OS: Can Pro-Am teams with the same nickname exist? Example: Chicago Wings and Seattle Wings

JT: No.



OS: Do you have to be in same Affiliation as everyone else to play together?

JT: No that isn’t necessary.



OS: Will teams be restricted by position? Example: Three 7-foot SFs and two centers? Or is it two guards, two forwards, one center?

JT: No there aren’t position restrictions.



OS: Will you have a website or app available to check your stats and other game results?

JT: Yes.