It seems like every NBA player is making some flirtation with a team overseas. Well, at least the superstars are.
As far as the virtual players are concerned, they will still be on their teams when you unwrap your NBA 2K12 game in October — barring any crazy moves in a sped-up free agency.
NBA Jam, as unorthodox as it always is, is getting in on the Euro-craze.
The Final Four from EuroLeague — Real Madrid, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Panathanaikos and Montepaschi — is coming to American game consoles this fall. EA’s NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, the second installment in the NBA Jam revival, will feature the four teams and will be available on XBox Live and the PlayStation Network (no game cartridge, kids) for $15.
Typically a lot of NBA games have featured International All Star teams of FIBA teams for Olympic or World Championship play. This, as far as I know, is the first game to feature European basketball teams. We are slowly getting to a FIFA-type set up with multiple leagues available for game play.
EuroLeague has to feel that this is a measure of legitimacy for them. Without the NBA, EuroLeague is the best league in the world at play right now and with all the best players in the world seemingly willing to jump over just to play, they have bot be feeling their profile is rising state-side.
If EA Sports ever decides to release another NBA Live/Elite, Euroleague and EA Sports completed a new licensing agreement that will make its debut in the online-only NBA Jam: On Fire Edition.
So who can you play for? Stars like Maccabi’s Lior Eliyahu and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Madrid’s Sergio Llull and Carlos Suarez, and Panathanaikos’ Dimitris Diamantidis. Those are some big international names, even if a few of them flamed out in the NBA.
Now they can be on fire against NBA teams on your game system.
Boom-shaka-laka!
