NBA 2K20 Adds A 15-Year Old Make-A-Wish Kid To Its Roster

Every now and then, video games can warm the cockles of your heart. That’s the case with NBA 2K20 and a 15-year-old Make-A-Wish kid from Georgia named William Floyd. At just 18 months old, William went into heart failure and was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that causes muscle weakness and heart problems. His condition doesn’t allow him to play sports like other kids his age, so 2K Sports is letting William stay competitive in the virtual world by putting him in NBA 2K20.

William is the first non-NBA athlete to be authentically scanned into the game with his likeness and even some custom dance moves included. You can now download him on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. William’s in-game player model can be found within Quick Game mode as a free agent for you to add to a team of your choosing, as well as through MyCareer and MyLeague rosters.

“When we learned about William’s wish to visit 2K, the whole team was thrilled,” said Ronnie Singh, digital marketing director on NBA 2K (and better known as Ronnie 2K). “Learning about his journey was really humbling, and we wanted to find a way to make William’s wish come true in the biggest way possible. We couldn’t think of a better way to do that than bringing his passion to life in-game and giving millions of NBA 2K fans around the world the chance to enjoy William’s player model.”

Make-A-Wish sent William and his family to 2K’s headquarters where his likeness was scanned into the game much like each NBA superstar. 140 motion capture cameras caught his every move, while likeness was recreated by 146 Pixelgun cameras. “Each player does a dance move or a celebration before he gets on the court,” William explained. “So, I got one of those, too. I got to create it.”

On top of being a heartwarming gesture from 2K, it also helped during William’s treatment by giving him something to look forward to. After talking to the NBA 2K marketing and video capture teams, and the development team at Visual Concepts, William is also now eager to pursue a career at 2K when he’s older. “The cool thing is that 2K took what could have been a great wish and brought it to a level that we never expected,” says William’s mom, Julie. “They treated him–and all of us–like royalty and were so interested in everything William had to offer them. It was absolutely unbelievable.”