Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan an all-star and now video game cover athlete

Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers will grace the cover outside of Canada with Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal featured on two special versions of the game: the Legend Edition and Legend Gold.

DeRozan has long been an avid gamer.

“That’s all I did growing up is play video games, trying to play every new game that came out,” he said. “Now I kind of stick to the basics, just playing ‘Madden’ and ‘2K.’ Now to be on the cover of ‘2K’ makes it even better.”

Former Raptor Terrence Ross, now with the Orlando Magic, was one of DeRozan’s gaming partners in Toronto.

“He kept me up on a lot of the new games, so he kind of kept me young when it came to that,” said DeRozan.

The Raptors guard said he has some skills once he gets a chance to invest some hours into a game.

“‘Madden’ was one of my go-to games that I was pretty good at. Boxing, golf. But once I lock in and play for a couple of days I get pretty good at it.”

DeRozan also marvels at the realism of today’s video games.

“it’s crazy. Now you can play 2K and you can hear your favourite player’s voice giving an interview,” he said.

DeRozan also likes the constant game updates, which add to the realism.

“I just try to do everything that I don’t do in a game, just have fun with it,” he said.

The cover choice is timely for the Raptors, who are one of 17 NBA teams hoping to win on the virtual basketball court as well as the real one in 2018.

The NBA 2K esports league will feature elite gamers who will control their own avatar — rather than NBA players — in a five-on-five game.

The virtual season will run for about three months with the debut campaign targeted to kick off around the all-star break in February next season.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan an all-star and now video game cover athlete

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