Countless NBA players have experienced this feeling. But not a single WNBA participant had until recently. When NBA 2K20 premiered in 2019, it had been the very first time the yearly game -- which premiered in 1999 -- showcased WNBA players. Her predecessors did not get the opportunity to NBA MT Coins play as themselves, but Washington Mystics wing Aerial Powers couldn't help but make a comparison when she played as herself. "This is probably how the guys feel when they get in the league and they get a chance to play themselves 2K," she said. "It's just surreal and can be pretty enjoyable."

"I'd have never believed they'd implement girls into the match," Powers told USA TODAY Sports. "Even though I feel like we should be in there." Dallas Wings guard Allisha Gray has been playing 2K because Shaquille O'Neal graced the cover in 2005, and she has trouble believing that she is a part of it. "I never would have imagined seeing myself in a video game," Gray said. Alexis Jones, who had been waived by the Atlanta Fantasy in August, has always enjoyed making her own player on 2K and will mold his match following her own. This is going to be the first year she won't need to create herself at the picture of a man.

"That was my fantasy come true, I really don't know about everybody else," Jones stated. "I know that's 1 thing that I always dreamed of as a little girl -- to maintain a 2K match. This chance to make yourself and build yourself as well as a girl is dope." The importance of building your own WNBA player can't be overstated, particularly for young women who aspire to play basketball or are just fans of this game. "I think it's amazing that little girls can develop and really play the game and understand that they can have the same goals and accomplishments as guys," Jones said. Powers echoed the opinion and how important representation is for young women. She also wants to see greater progression with women in the video game business in general.

Powers flows and plays video games on Twitch and is now especially active in gaming since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She even hosted an all-female 2K tournament in October that contained a 30-minute opening musical set by Grammy Award Winning artist DJ Jazzy Jeff. The stream garnered over 26,000 viewers. The 2019 WNBA champion says if she plays video games she is sometimes met with misogynistic messages from different consumers, and she expects that new modes such as"The W" will make it easier for girls playing with video games. "It sort of gives the younger girls a fantastic look and Buy MT 2K21 says,'Hey, it is fine to be a female, such as basketball and want to play,' since I understand some of their male friends may have a different view," Powers said. "But when you see the women in the game, it is like,'Hey, this is right.'" In a word, most consumers find making shots always to be: difficult. Having logged a while on the game myself, I concur this aspect of NBA 2K is definitely tougher. However, I am a part of the group that does not wish to see anything changed. The gameplay is powerful and a little more tactical in every manner, and also the changes to shooting are largely a part of the quality.