Creed's Michael B Jordan to star in NBA 2K17 career mode

Creed star Michael B Jordan's next role will be in the career mode of Visual Concepts' upcoming basketball sim NBA 2K17. He will play Justice Young, a rising star in NBA and friend of the player's created character, who will guide the player through their journey.

"NBA 2K17 was the perfect platform to connect with a new, unique audience and challenge myself to expand my abilities as an actor," said Jordan in a statement. "I'm humbled at the opportunity to help influence a franchise that I've been a passionate fan of since its first release."

He is not the only recognisable face players will recognise. In a blog post on Facebook, the 2K17 team revealed that stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress will play Ice the Barber and Veep's Matt Walsh will play the player's college coach Hemsley Adson.

The NBA 2K series is no stranger to big names, the career mode of last year's game was directed by Spike Lee.

Discussing the differences between last year's career mode and this year's the aforementioned blog says: "Probably the biggest difference from NBA 2K16 is the way this year's story unfolds. The way you play the game and the decisions you make off the court will change the way you experience the narrative.

"If you're a gym rat like Justice, the two of you will form a strong bond right away. If you're more outspoken in press conferences and when talking with the media, it will have ramifications down the line."

The full post goes into the changes and features coming to this year's game in a lot more detail.

On the hiring of Jordan, Alfie Brody, vice president of marketing for NBA 2K said: "We saw tremendous success and engagement among our fans in last year's MyCAREER narrative, and wanted to deliver an even more tailored experience by partnering with Michael B. Jordan.

"Working with an actor of Michael's calibre represents a commitment to giving our fans only the best and continuing to push ourselves as an entertainment platform."

Jordan came to Hollywood's attention in unexpected teens-with-superpowers hit Chronicle, proving his talents again in 2013's Fruitvale Station. He starred in the catastrophic Fantastic Four reboot last year, but followed that up with the actually-fantastic Creed - a continuation of the Rocky franchise in which he starred.

Jordan is sure to have more films in the pipeline, including a Creed sequel, but right now the only one confirmed is Marvel's Black Panther, in which he'll play one of the film's two villains.

NBA 2K17 is set for release on 20 September 2016.

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