Four Years Ago, I Recorded To Appear In My First NBA 2K Game
Do you know what today is? Today is a Thursday, so you know what that means! Time to reminisce a little bit and do a throwback Thursday type of post. Let’s go back to the first time I recorded vocals to appear in the NBA 2K series.
Four years ago this week, I made my first trip to Los Angeles, California, to record my first-ever appearance in a video game.
In fact, it was four years ago today back on December 7th, 2020!
Since that year in 2020, I have been out every year to record for the new NBA 2K, including NBA 2K22, NBA 2K23, and this year’s version of the iconic game, NBA 2K24.
It has been an absolute honor to be a part of the NBA 2K series — a series that is one of the most legendary games series in the history of video games, and the most successful NBA series of all time.
Especially when we are talking about a series that got its start by featuring a Philadelphia legend on the cover for the first five editions of the game — Allen Iverson.
Needless to say, NBA 2K is an incredible brand.
Each year, I look forward to flying out to L.A. to record for the series at Mission Controls Productions.
It is an amazing studio run by two great people — Arlene and Bill Kole.
Check out their Instagram here to put a face to the names!
Not only are they the best at what they do and make me sound perfect in the game, but they have also become like family.
By the way, if you catch this post early enough, you may have a chance to win a three-pack of NBA 2K games that I appeared in!
Today, on The Matt Cord Show With Steve Vassalotti, we are giving away a three-pack of NBA 2K22, NBA 2K23, and NBA 2K24 to one lucky winner of D-Student Trivia.
So tune in for your chance to win, and pick up a copy of this year’s game for yourself to hear yours truly and to hear the amazing world done by Arlene and Bill Kole.
More from Matt Cord…
Joel Embiid Is The MVP Of The NBA
Another trophy is making its way to South Philly and taking its rightful home right on Broad Street.
Joel “The Process” Embiid was officially awarded the MVP of the NBA last night, and a lot of us think it has been a long time coming.
The big fella had quite the season!
He led the NBA in points per game with 33.1 and brought in 10.2 rebounds per game, which was good for 8th in the league.
Plus, he got his teammates involved, averaging 4.2 assists per game.
Embiid is the fifth Philadelphia 76ers player to win the award with Wilt Chamberlain winning in 1966, 1967, and 1968, Julius “Dr. J” Erving winning in 1981, Moses Malone winning in 1983, and Allen Iverson winning in 2001.
This is the second MVP season I have had the pleasure to watch up close as the public address announcer for the team.
Both seasons were legendary between Iverson’s season in ‘01 and Joel’s this year!
We all know the ‘01 season ended in an NBA Finals appearance, so hopefully, his year is similar, but we actually finish the job this time and win it all!
But that discussion is for another day!
Today is all about Embiid!
It has been a pleasure to watch him grow as a basketball player.
From a guy who couldn’t get on the floor his first two years due to injury to the best player in the world!
Also, off the floor, he is one of the funniest players to be around.
For example, when we were in London in 2018, I snagged a funny photo of him imitating Dikembe Mutumbo’s finger wave!
That’s just one small moment that sticks out of him as a person.
I look forward to doing his intro every night because I know it is going to be the loudest the crowd gets during the pregame night in and night out.
Plus, I can’t forget our pregame ritual where I give him his first pass of the night and then after getting a feel for the game ball, he passes it back to me so I can give it to the referee!
It is so cool to see all his teammates react and give him his flowers!
He deserves them all!
But I’m sure his focus right now isn’t even on winning the award, it’s on trying to get healthy for his team and working towards a championship!
So let’s get it done, big fella!
Congrats!
Matt Cord is the host of the Matt Cord Show. He is a lover of all Philly Sports and has been the voice of the Sixers for 27 years and NBA2K for the past 4 years. As a cyclist enthusiast, Matt writes about his adventures all throughout the city.