There’s not even a month left until NBA 2K23 is out. As such, the hype train is moving at full speed — especially as we learn more about how it’ll honor Michael Jordan’s legacy.
On Thursday, 2K Sports announced that NBA 2K23 will let fans recreate 15 iconic moments from Jordan’s career. The Jordan Challenge mode, introduced in NBA 2K11, returns at long last. In addition to the original 10 challenges from that title, five all-new scenarios are coming.
Some of these moments include Jordan’s career-defining performance at the 1982 NCAA National Championship, along with the 1998 NBA Finals, where he secured a sixth NBA championship. Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect is that everything will be period-specific. So all athletes, announcers, and courts will appear as they did back then – complete with CRT TV scanlines! For example, the legendary 1990 Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers game looks as if it was ripped straight out of that era. There’s quite a commitment to authenticity.
A fresh trailer for NBA 2K23 also came out, with interviews from experts who witnessed Jordan’s rise firsthand. So do check it out!
“The Jordan Challenge is an immersive experience unlike anything NBA 2K fans have seen, completely rebuilding the challenges from and adding five new moments,” Erick Boenisch, vice president of NBA development at Visual Concepts, said in a press release. “Our team took everything into consideration when constructing this game mode; the arenas, the players, the uniforms, the broadcast, and the play style of the era have been accounted for in an effort to give fans a truly authentic and unique playable Jordan experience.”
Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be any mention of that time when Jordan and Bugs Bunny defeated aliens on the court. A crying shame, really — you’ll have to play MultiVersus for that.
NBA 2K23 will release on Sept. 9, 2022, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.