2K producer Ben Bishop: NBA 2K24’s Mamba Moments are ‘games to savor’

Mamba no. 5

NBA 2K24’s Mamba Moments aim to encapsulate the finest details of Kobe Bryant’s career in the sports game 2K senior producer Ben Bishop told GLHF at a recent roundtable press conference that the team dug into every aspect of Bryant’s time on the court, from his unique gestures after specific victories to the personal and social context behind some of his most important games, and Bishop believes the end result is a set of “games to savor.”

NBA 2K24’s Mamba Moments borrow structurally from 23’s Jordan Challenges. This mode features seven games from the three major eras of Bryant’s career:

• The Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal phase
• Bryant’s “scoring machine” years, which Bishop describes as “Kobe against the world”
• The end of his career, when he brought the Lakers back from the brink of defeat

Visual Concepts/2K Games

Bishop says each of the seven games offer distinct ways to play and encourage different styles in a way that’s meant to immerse players in what it was like to be Bryant at the time. Every game has a set of challenges tied to Bryant’s performance in that match, and if you pass them, you get unique rewards that carry over into MyCareer and MyTeam.

Then there’s everything surrounding the games. Commentary in Mamba Moments games is something Bishop says you won’t want to ignore, as it sets the tone for what was happening off the court at the time – personal stories from the players, how the team was holding up at the time, and even context for how the match fits into the league’s history.

Visual Concepts poured a substantial amount of effort into recreating how the court, stat overlays, and, most importantly, Bryant’s animations look. Bishop used one example of how Bryant, fresh off a scoring streak, blew on his fingers to metaphorically cool them off. Visual Concepts captured that as realistically as possible.

The whole thing is a “special Kobe package that’s unique to him and gives you an idea of who he was,” Bishop says.

NBA 2K24 launches for PC, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on Sep. 8, 2023. If you're looking for more NBA 2K24, check out our coverage of 2K24's MyNBA, changes coming to the WNBA, and what's new with skills.