SSG NBA 2K MyNBA Rules

The SSG NBA 2K MyNBA league is based on the mission of sim basketball, first and foremost. The goal is not to create a rule for every possible situation, but to produce gameplay and franchise decisions that reasonably resemble NBA basketball.

Our rules are subject to change if a gameplay mechanic, exploit, or league issue is negatively affecting that mission. Commissioners will do their best to handle changes fairly and consistently.

Overview

30-user MyNBA league
Current NBA teams and rosters
Custom gameplay and MyNBA settings
Sim-style gameplay
Active Discord community

Sim Gameplay

Users are expected to play basketball rather than 2K.
Exploiting an animation, AI behavior, matchup, play, or game mechanic simply because it consistently works is not acceptable, even if there is not a specific rule prohibiting it.
Repeated abuse of an exploit or unrealistic strategy may result in a warning, penalty, or removal from the league.

Offensive Gameplay

Offensive basketball should show reasonable variety and resemble how an NBA team might actually play.
Mix up your offensive sets, actions, and play calls.
Repeatedly running the same play, action, pick-and-roll, isolation, or other difficult-to-defend mechanic is not allowed.
Players should generally be used in a manner consistent with their position, abilities, and role.
Do not intentionally manipulate animations or AI defenders to create unrealistic scoring opportunities.
Excessive dribbling solely to trigger favorable animations or break CPU-controlled defenders is not considered sim gameplay.
Taking advantage of a legitimate mismatch is encouraged. Exploiting the same mismatch or game mechanic possession after possession is not.
Basketball naturally produces hot hands and big individual performances. Force-feeding one player simply to accumulate unrealistic statistics is not allowed.

Points in the Paint

There is no arbitrary points-in-the-paint limit.
Teams may attack the basket when the matchup and game situation call for it. However, repeatedly forcing drives, dunks, backdoor cuts, or other interior actions because of an exploitable game mechanic is not acceptable.
The standard is how the points are being created, not simply how many points are scored in the paint.

Fast Breaks

Fast-break basketball is encouraged when the opportunity develops naturally.
Reasonable transition opportunities include turnovers, long rebounds, blocked shots, clear numerical advantages, and players naturally leaking out in transition.
Users should not intentionally position players downcourt or repeatedly force unrealistic transition opportunities after routine made baskets or normal defensive possessions.

Playcalling

Users are expected to show reasonable offensive variety.
You do not need to call a set play on every possession, but your offense should include a realistic mixture of set plays, pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop, isolation, post offense, off-ball actions, transition opportunities, and freelance offense.
Running the same high-success play or action repeatedly because the game struggles to defend it is prohibited.

Defense

Defense should resemble realistic NBA basketball.
On-ball defense should be your primary form of defense.
Users may switch defenders when appropriate, rotate, help, hedge, double-team, and make normal basketball adjustments.
Sitting off-ball with a center or another defender for extended stretches while allowing the CPU to defend the ball handler is not permitted.
Zone defense is allowed but should not be used solely to exploit AI behavior or a known game flaw.
Full-court pressure, trapping, and aggressive defensive strategies should be used in reasonable basketball situations rather than for an entire game without context.
Repeatedly attempting steals, charges, or other defensive actions simply to exploit animations is not allowed.

Player Positions and Lineups

Players should be used in realistic positions and roles.
Users may not intentionally place players at clearly unrealistic positions simply to exploit speed, size, badges, animations, or favorable game mechanics.
Position eligibility within NBA 2K should be treated as a starting point rather than permission to create obviously unrealistic lineups. If a position change or lineup is questionable, contact a commissioner.

Substitutions and Rotations

Users are expected to manage their rotations in a reasonably realistic manner.
Starters should not routinely play entire games without rest.
Bench players should receive reasonable opportunities based on roster construction and game situation.
Playoff and late-season rotations may naturally become shorter.
Injuries, foul trouble, overtime, and unusual game situations may result in exceptions.

Late-Game Sportsmanship

Once the outcome of a game is reasonably decided, both teams are expected to finish the game respectfully.
Do not intentionally run up the score.
Do not continue aggressively pressing or trapping a defeated opponent without a legitimate basketball reason.
Do not attempt unnecessary steals or quick scores during the final possessions of a decided game.
If the game clock can reasonably be run out, do so.
The losing team should also avoid unnecessarily extending a game whose outcome has been decided.

Stat Padding

Stat padding is not permitted.
Big games and unusual statistical performances will happen naturally. The issue is intentionally altering your gameplay to chase individual statistics after the competitive situation no longer calls for it.
This includes unnecessarily force-feeding players, chasing triple-doubles, continuing to score aggressively in a blowout, or otherwise prioritizing statistics over realistic basketball.

Participation and Streaming

Active participation is an important part of SSG.
Users are expected to make a reasonable effort to complete their scheduled games.
Communication with opponents should take place through Discord.
Repeatedly missing games without communication may result in removal from the league.
When streaming is required, users must maintain an archive of their games so commissioners can review gameplay and potential rule violations.

Game Scheduling

Communication is key to a successful league.
When scheduling a game, contact your opponent and provide actual days and times when you are available rather than simply asking, “When can you play?”
Both users are expected to make a reasonable effort to find a time within the league’s scheduling window.
If scheduling becomes difficult, contact a commissioner as soon as possible.

Restarts and Disconnects

Intentional restarts are not tolerated.
We understand that disconnects, crashes, servers, and other technical problems happen. These situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

If a game disconnects:

Communicate with your opponent immediately.
Retain any stream or archive evidence when possible.
Make a reasonable effort to recreate a fair game situation if both users agree.
Contact a commissioner if the users cannot agree on a resolution.

Repeated suspicious restarts may result in league penalties or removal.

Trades

Trades should reflect the basic realities of running an NBA franchise while still giving users freedom to build their teams.
No collusion between users.
No intentionally lopsided trades designed to transfer talent or assets to another user.
Do not exploit CPU trade logic.
Users may not use another team as temporary storage for players or assets.
Commissioners reserve the right to reverse transactions that clearly damage league integrity.
Winning or losing a trade is part of sports. Commissioner intervention is intended for obvious abuse, not simply because one side made a better deal.

CPU Transactions

Users may not exploit CPU-controlled teams through trades, free agency, contract manipulation, or any other transaction system.
Any transaction involving a CPU-controlled team should meet the same basic standard of realism expected from a transaction between two users.

Free Agency, Draft and Contracts

Users are expected to manage their franchises in good faith.
This includes free agency, the draft, contract extensions, salary-cap management, player options, restricted free agency, and other roster-management systems.
Exploiting contract, salary-cap, trade, draft, or roster-management loopholes to produce an obviously unrealistic result is prohibited.

Sportsmanship

Competition is encouraged. Toxic behavior is not.
Trash talk between people who know one another is part of sports gaming, but personal attacks, harassment, rage quitting, or repeatedly creating problems with opponents will not be tolerated.
If you have a complaint about another user, contact a commissioner privately on Discord. Do not blast the main league chat with a complaint about your opponent.

League Integrity

No rulebook can anticipate every exploit or unusual situation in NBA 2K.
The absence of a specific written rule does not mean that obviously exploitative behavior is permitted.
When determining whether something belongs in SSG, ask a simple question:
Would this reasonably happen in an NBA basketball game, or am I doing it because NBA 2K lets me get away with it?
When in doubt, ask a commissioner.

Punishments

We are not looking to punish people, but when an issue does arise, we will try to be as consistent as possible.
Depending on the severity and frequency of an issue, penalties may include a warning, gameplay or roster penalty, transaction reversal, player suspension, forced loss, or removal from the league.
Repeated violations will result in increasingly significant penalties.
Punishments are subject to change at the discretion of the SSG leadership team.