NBA 2K23 brings back The Jordan Challenge after 12 years

NBA 2K23 launches Sept. 9 and it will bring back The Jordan Challenge, an extremely popular mode that nonetheless has made just one appearance, 12 years ago in 2K Sports’ landmark NBA 2K11.

The Jordan Challenge — which tasks players with re-creating or bettering some of Michael Jordan’s greatest NBA performances — will include 15 games in NBA 2K23; NBA 2K11 There were 10. A news release on Tuesday said the revived mode will include “unique video vignettes that come with special commentary from an array of NBA luminaries.”

Jordan will be featured on two editions that are special. NBA 2K23: The Michael Jordan Edition and Championship Edition. Jordan was featured on the cover of NBA 2K11 NBA 2K12As well as the Michael Jordan Special Edition Of NBA 2K16.

For the first time, Jordan Challenge was a game that could be played on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Players were placed in His Airness’ shoes for 10 important games. These included signature moments like the “Flu Game” in the 1997 NBA Finals, and his 69-point performance against Cleveland (combining with teammate Stacey King for 70, of course) in 1990.

Image: Visual Concepts/2K sports

This was then followed by NBA 2K12, which offered a more expansive mode called NBA’s Greatest, which starred several classic teams and Hall of Fame players who have appeared in the game’s roster file ever since. Despite the appeal of both modes (which included graphics, presentation and commentary that reflected the time), they were never returned despite long-standing community demand.

Jordan’s two special editions will be accompanied by a third, the NBA 2K23 WNBA Version, which will feature Seattle’s Sue Bird and Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, both of whom are multiple WNBA champions and Olympic gold medalists (and Connecticut alumnae).

Image: Visual Concepts/2K sports

Bird, who will retire after the current WNBA season, and Taurasi join Candace Parker as the first WNBA players to get a special edition cover for 2K Sports’ basketball simulation. Parker appeared on NBA 2K22’s WNBA 25th Anniversary Edition. Women’s professional basketball joined the series beginning with NBA 2K20, Visual Concepts was the developer of NBA 2K and expanded their offerings in the two following years. NBA 2K22 enhanced the series’ first-ever single-player career mode for a women’s team sport.

2K Sports has one more cover announcement. This should be the main cover celebrity. That will be revealed, along with the title’s platforms, on Thursday.