SALT LAKE CITY -- Shaka Browne and Lytel Martin had the exact same routine growing up. They would go to school. They would come home Nba 2k22 Mt. They'd pop-in NBA 2K9 -- the 2009 edition of the NBA-based video game -- and would ball online. Five-on-five virtual games. On the weekends, the same thing. Play all weekend. Come home, log into NBA 2K and game. Again and again. Day after day.

Browne (who goes by"Shaka") and Martin (who goes by"Lotty") increased the worldwide rankings of their NBA 2K9 online community. It was a competitive time with countless thousands competing online. Shaka, whose handle was"YoungSparks92," saw somebody climbing the ranks with him. "YoungKobe3." Both New Yorkers were connected together afterward. Little did they know that nearly a decade later they would be competing side by side to the Utah Jazz at a professional league for NBA 2K gamers.

See, at the moment, it was all about positions. They climbed the ladder up. They jockeyed for position. Shaka had the bragging rights always ahead of Lotty. So when Lotty discovered the two NBA 2K stars climbed up in the Identical neighborhood of Mount Vernon, New York. He knew he needed to battle him. 1 game to decide bragging rights to the town and 2K. They went to different high schools, so it wasn't like they could join by themselves.

Shaka wanted the opportunity to play with Lotty one on one. He always knew he was a better player than him, even though they had been constantly neck-and-neck in the competitive rankings. He only wanted the moment to prove it. They played with a hard-fought game. Lotty chose the Los Angeles Lakers -- a team touting a prime Kobe Bryant -- and Shaka chose the Rockets, which had Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming in the time 2k22 mt buy. The game was close, but Shaka won by 10 or so.