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One of the newest features of NBA 2K18 is including all-time rosters for all 30 current teams. The lineups will have some of the best players that have ever played for the franchise, with others considered as NBA legends for representing the team in the past.
However, fans of the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics were not pleased to find out that their players who exclusively played for their team will be donning Oklahoma City Thunder jerseys instead in the video game. Some of them took to their Twitter accounts to express their dismay.
Here are some of their reactions:
Wow, they actually went and did it…the Thunder's all-time team roster in NBA 2K18 is made up of mostly Sonics players. pic.twitter.com/hTeY0BXtxs
— bryan wiedey (@pastapadre) August 24, 2017
@Sonicsgate @sonicsrising This is just gross.
— bryan wiedey (@pastapadre) August 24, 2017
So disrespectful to Seattle and the Sonics culture
— Devin Rykard (@DevRykard) August 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/DarrenRabbi/status/900792263512600576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sbnation.com%2F2017%2F8%2F24%2F16198974%2Fsupersonics-nba-2k18-all-time-teams-thunder-roster-mad-fans
@Ronnie2K This is shameful!
— Chez Patri (@CoachJall) August 24, 2017
Outside of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka, the all-time lineup of the franchise also includes 11 players who only played for the Sonics, which makes it very understandable why the fans have negative reactions to the game’s decision to show them all sporting the Thunder’s colors. It also adds to their feeling of being disrespected as the team of the Charlotte Hornets will feature their old jerseys, to represent their presence in the league from 1988-2002.
It seems that 2K Sports took into consideration the fact that the move of the Sonics franchise to Oklahoma City was full of controversy, and that Seattle felt like they were robbed of a chance to continue having their own professional basketball team. When Clay Bennett purchased the franchise, he made it known that he intends to keep the Sonics in Seattle, but ultimately decided to move it to Oklahoma City after only 15 months.
It remains to be seen if NBA 2K18 will eventually add at least the old Sonics jersey in the game, and make it an alternate uniform for the Thunder’s all-time team. But for now, more fans from Seattle may voice out their disgust about it, with the game’s developers receiving more flak from the issue.