The NBA’s Suspension Due to COVID-19 is Having an Adverse Effect on NBA 2K20 [Update]

Users are having trouble simulating a league that isn't playing.

News by Eric Van Allen, News Editor

Updated on 16 March 2020

Update [3/16, 11:15 a.m. PT]: 2K has reached out to USgamer with a statement about the bug.

“NBA 2K20 is a leading sports simulation and our objective is to authentically reflect the realities of the NBA," a 2K spokesperson told USgamer. "The suspension of play had an unintended effect on the MyLeague Start Today mode. The issue has since been resolved. Now, users who engage Start Today mode will pick up where the NBA schedule left off on March 11 to play out the NBA regular season as originally scheduled.”

The original story follows:

COVID-19's impact escalated to sports this week, with a number of major leagues being suspended in the wake of the growing pandemic. Today it seems that's carrying over to the virtual sports world, specifically for NBA 2K20.

Last night, the NBA suspended its season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19. It was certainly a surprise to some, but in the light of a new day, players are discovering this might have even more implications than expected.

NBA 2K20's MyLeague mode has a Start Today function which can start a league simulation wherever the real-life league is at, today. As it turns out, if you try that today, it seems like you run into one major issue: there's no league to start from.

Players on forums like ResetEra and the 2K subreddit are reporting issues with trying to "start today." Other players have seen issues with advancing Start Today schedules.

While WWE 2K20 had a bit of a fumble with its new year bug, this one is completely understandable. Other sports games like the Madden series have integrated methods of following the real-life, ongoing seasons in sports. How do you account for the sudden, overnight suspension of matches?

We've reached out to 2K to ask about what they're doing to handle the issue. Just about every aspect of gaming has been impacted by the outbreak of the coronavirus, from esports tournaments canceling in-person events to the cancellation of E3 2020. It's hard, at this point, to know just how far-reaching the effects of the virus' outbreak and spread will be.