Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. Gather ’round, gather ’round as I tell you about one of the most magnificent gifts to the human race.

Every year since 1999, we’ve been blessed with one of the best things we could ever ask for (or at least that I could ever ask for) and that is…  the NBA 2K series.

Yes, that time of the month has come around: NBA 2K17 has been released for us to enjoy and thrive off of. If you didn’t know, now you do.

Now I know for many, just the very thought of hearing the phrases “two” and “K” together makes their palms sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on your sweater already, mom’s spaghetti…

Not the name itself, but what it brings!  Like laziness, less public sightings, late arrivals to events, missed phone calls, texts, FaceTimes, and most importantly, attention. Heck, it might as well come with a disclaimer on the front cover.

I see there’s tons of mixed reviews here and there, so allow me to tackle it head on by comparing both sides. Let’s start off with the gamer himself, the side I stand with. Little did you know this gamer has probably been through hell and back to get that game.

He or she worked their fingers to the bone for 56 nights saving for the future (do you get it?) spending precious time and money, but time IS money so even MORE money, to buy that glorious game. Before they can even open the game there has been nothing but backlash, from the gamer’s parents probably (trust me I know), but at this point we’ve only just begun. Then we pop the game in and everything is all sunshine and happy faces.

Well maybe not sunshine, because the only light emitting into the room is from the TV, otherwise you must sit in complete darkness.

Then there is the game itself. Only those who have the game can actually tell you how lit it is, but my boy Alex always lets me play, so that’s close enough.

Now let’s enter the dark side of the debate, for now we’ll call it the “parental view.” To summarize, people see the gamer having fun.  But parents have forgotten how to have fun, and they don’t want their little person having fun (without them), so they hate it. End of story. Little do they know that 2K is also educational, according to a study I did in my head.

So the next time you see that person playing 2K, just remember a couple things: One, that this is their choice of fun not yours, so back off and let them relax. Two, if they’re playing, at least you know they are home safe and staying out of trouble. Three, and I can not stress this enough, the excuse, “Oh you can just pause the game,” isn’t just the simple press of a button. Well it is, but it isn’t. Just let us finish playing and we’ll respond in a timely manner of 10-12 business days.

I have been a little biased against the parental side, so allow me to give you older guys and gals a tip. You want your child to have fun but play less? Just buy them FIFA 17. It’s just as much fun, if not more than NBA 2K (we can debate this later) and the way the game is set up, your child could be the best player in the world and still end up losing 3-0, causing him to stop playing for the night.

Why you may ask? Because FIFA, that’s why.