Growing up, most NBA stars dream of running from this tunnel and into a huge stadium filled with thousands of MT NBA 2K21 fans roaring. Possibly the only delight that may rival realizing your dream of making it into the pros would be to purchase the most recent version of NBA2K to watch yourself in the video game that you're growing up. Though it might appear insignificant, there is a sense of coming full circle.

Countless NBA players have experienced this feeling. But not a single WNBA player had until recently. When NBA 2K20 premiered in 2019, it had been the first time the annual match -- which thrived in 1999 -- featured WNBA players. Her predecessors did not get the opportunity to perform as themselves, but Washington Mystics wing Aerial Powers could not help but make a comparison when she first played . "This is most likely how the men feel when they get in the league and they get a chance to play themselves 2K," she said. "It is just surreal and is pretty fun."

"I would have never thought they'd implement girls to the match," Powers told USA TODAY Sports. "Even though I feel like we ought to be in there." Dallas Wings guard Allisha Gray was enjoying 2K because Shaquille O'Neal graced the cover in 2005, and she still has trouble believing that she is part of it. "I never would have imagined seeing myself at a video game," Gray explained. Alexis Jones, who had been waived by the Atlanta Dream in August, has consistently enjoyed making her very own participant on 2K and will mold his game after her own. This will be the first year she won't need to make herself in the image of a guy.

"That has been my dream come true, '' I don't know about everybody else," Jones said. "I understand that is one thing that I always dreamed of as a little woman -- to maintain a 2K game. This opportunity to create yourself and build yourself as well as a woman is dope." The importance of building your WNBA player can not be overstated, particularly for young girls who aspire to play basketball or are only fans of this sport. "I think that it's amazing that little girls can grow up and actually play the game and understand that they can still have the same objectives and accomplishments as men," Jones stated. Powers echoed the opinion and how significant representation is for young women. She also wants to see more advancement with girls at the video game business in general.

Powers streams and plays video games on Twitch and is now especially active in gaming because the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She even hosted an all-female 2K championship in October that contained a 30-minute opening musical group by Grammy Award winning performer DJ Jazzy Jeff. The flow garnered over 26,000 viewers. The 2019 WNBA champion says if she plays video games she is occasionally met with misogynistic messages from other consumers, and she expects that new modes like"The W" will make it much easier for women playing video games. "It kind of gives the younger girls a good look and says,'Hey, it's fine to Buy NBA 2K21 MT be a lady, like basketball and wish to play,' since I know some of their male friends might have a different opinion," Powers said. "But if you Find the girls in the game, it is like,'Hey, this is right.'"