Ep. 89: Cody Parrent on Year 1 of Pacers Gaming

Now that the first season of the NBA 2K League is complete, it’s a good time to take a look back at the year for Pacers Gaming. They went 5-9 and finish 13th in a 17-team league that will expand to 21 teams for Year 2. I recently visited the headquarters of Pacers Gaming, the fourth franchise for Pacers Sports & Entertainment. Like the Pacers, they work out of the St. Vincent Center – just off Delaware Street in downtown Indianapolis. It is a gorgeous $50 million facility, entirely privately financed, that has been open for just over a year. Pacers Gaming has an outstanding office featuring a great work environment with a dozen computers along with a play area that includes a ping pong table. The league played a 14-week regular season from May through August, plus three tournament. Pacers Gaming just missed out on the playoffs so their season ended on August 11. Teams consist of six players and for this group, it was the first time that 67 percent of the players on the roster played with others in the same room. They’re used to being at their homes and on their own. Cody Parrent is the head coach and the director of PS&E’s eSports operation. To stay up to date on the game and what skills are valuable, he plays NBA 2K at least several hours each day. On this podcast, you’ll hear my conversation with Parrent about the opening season, the highs and the lows, and what they’re working towards for Year 2. Subscribe to the Pacers Podcast on Apple Podcasts. I welcome your questions and comments @ScottAgness on Twitter or via email. Topics Discussed: * Year 1 in the 17-team NBA 2K League * Strategically changing players’ archetypes, including first-round pick WoLF * Dealing with a work Visa (for vGooner) and another player leaving early into the year * The challenge of traveling to New York every week for games * Their state-of-the-art facility that made other teams envious * League expansion, launch of 2K 19, and the upcoming draft combine