While going head to head on a Facebook Gaming stream, iPodKingCarter and Cole Anthony uncover the parallels between being a professional streamer and professional athlete.
The gaming world has advanced so much that it’s able to mimic real-life situations, especially in the world of sports. Essentially, video games can be used to perfect old skills and try out new tricks. Bridging the gap between real and virtual worlds, Facebook Gaming allows a space for both novel and professional gamers or athletes to connect over a love of the game.
David Carter, or iPodKingCarter, as he is known online, is a professional gamer most known for his expertise at NBA 2K. His love for sports carries over into the real world, as he is not only a Facebook Gaming streamer but he has also worked with EA Sports. Professional basketball player Cole Anthony shares a love for gaming with Carter, but most of his time is spent on the Orlando Magic court, going against the toughest teams and athletes in the NBA.
Facebook Gaming and Hypebeast brought these two together, as their passions for video games and their professional careers intersect, yet they both have different strengths. Carter has amassed over 600,000 subscribers for being a prolific player on NBA 2K. Anthony, on the other hand, does not shy away from a challenge while in the zone, facing the toughest of competitions in the league. The two invited each other to replicate tricks both on and off the screen and share their professional experiences with Facebook Gaming.
What do you do for a living, man?
I stream on Facebook Gaming; I've been doing it for about four years.
I stream a little bit on the side too. Call of Duty is really my game.
But you're a baller?
Orlando Magic baby — living the dream! This is literally everything I've been asking for since I was a kid. Just to get out there, hoop, and get paid to do it too. Ain't nothing better than that.
Of course. As a streamer, it's crazy. We do so many different things like make content, stream, and all of that. It's like when we want to go to NBA games, we don't even go as fans anymore because we want to try to get content. When was the first time you played 2K?
I think it was probably 2009 or 2010.
So you played that KG cover?
Yeah, I definitely played that KG cover.
Me — I'm 35. Everybody calls me old head; I was born in 1987. So for me, I played 2K when it first came out on Dreamcast. I remember trying to get your free throw right by using the analogs in the back. It used to be insane, but nowadays people just rim run now. Everybody wants to dunk. I've seen you dunk. It's like everybody wants to be Cole Anthony now.
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"[What makes streaming fun for me is] meeting new people and we have this common interest, which is really cool."
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I mean, I want to dunk too. But I can't even do some of those trick shots in real life. You've been with 2K since the beginning. How has the online aspect of the game changed from back then to now? I wasn't even fully tapped in when it first came out.
In 2009, rank had just dropped. That was the thing that everybody was talking about. It was so big that 2K decided to give us My Players. So the next year they came out with 2K10. We had My Crew, we had Blacktop — it was a whole new online experience with different people. I'll never forget when I met a couple of guys from St. Louis. They became some of my closest friends and through the years we just kept rolling. And now I play with probably thousands of people per month on Facebook Gaming. During the pandemic, I started streaming even more because it hit me pretty hard. What did that mean for you?
That was when I first started streaming and really got into it. That was the first Call of Duty game I played in years.
For me, it was one of those things where I was trying to figure out myself because I was logging a whole bunch of hours and building up my players.
I'm playing RPGs, and it was all amazing because not only did I get to meet some of my goals as a creator on Facebook, but I was also able to meet a lot more people on a different spectrum. I feel like gaming should be a positive outlet for everyone. Do you ever use 2K as an outlet for you to see different aspects of the game?
The more I play 2K, the more I realize I'm really out there trying to play the game how I play in the video game. It definitely helps me work on my craft.
Do you think the game is accurate compared to reality? I do, but what do you think?
I do think it's very accurate until…there will be times when I'm playing as myself and I'll be doing some stuff I'd never do in a real game.
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I feel like the depiction of it is as real as it can get. Basically, the NBA 2K league is set up literally like the NBA. I believe it's four different tournaments and in each, you could be playing up to 12 games. To go pro in the NBA 2K league, you have to commit six months of your time. What's your schedule like on the day-to-day throughout the season?
I'm going into my third year and even my first two years, my schedule wasn't like what it is now. When the season starts up, you play pretty much every day. It doesn't stop, and you want to perform at a high level too. So to perform at a high level, it's a different type of commitment. You've gotta really lock in and take care of your body.
What do you do to help your mind through it all?
I'm a worker and it can be super frustrating. You need to have a release. I've got my two roommates and I feel like I could talk to them about anything. And I also have my mom and dad. They help me just get a level head. Why do you game? What keeps you going?
The reason I game in all honesty is to have a smile on my face. Gaming makes me want to be a better father, a better husband, and a better businessman. It gives me more hats to wear. I love the fact that I can turn a stream on and interact and connect with thousands of people, and we could actually talk about real-life stuff. And what's your why — for the game as a whole? What does playing basketball do for you?
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I've been in love with the game of basketball since I was a young kid and I finally made it to where I always said I was gonna be. I still have a bunch of stuff I want to do, but it's cool sometimes to kind of sit back and be like, 'I'm really like here.' I also have four younger siblings and they're my biggest fans. I don't want to let them down because I want to be everything I know I can be. I'm playing for pure reasons — my love for the game and my family.
What do you think makes streaming fun for you?
Just having the interaction with other people that will come watch my streams. It gives me a lot of new people to play the game with. That's the main thing. I'm meeting new people and we have this common interest, which is really cool.
For me, streaming got crazy for me once they started making reels out of the content that I was streaming. When somebody was able to remix one of my Facebook reels and I was able to just have my audio be shown or heard on other people's content — that makes my day every day.
Listen, you know what? I don't even wanna talk game no more. Bet I could do better moves as you in the game than you can do as yourself in real life.
I'm listening right now, but I'm really not hearing you.
Suit up then. I'm gonna sit here with this controller and get right.
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This is literally everything I've been asking for since I was a kid. Just to get out there, hoop, and get paid to do it too.
Want to join in on streaming on Facebook Gaming?
Sharing a Love for the Game
"...it was all amazing because not only did I get to meet some of my goals as a creator on Facebook, but I was also able to meet a lot more people on a different spectrum.."
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COLE:
[What makes streaming fun for me is] meeting new people and we have this common interest, which is really cool.
Never Shying Away from a Challenge
Sharing a Love for the Game
Never Shying Away from a Challenge
"...it was all amazing because not only did I get to meet some of my goals as a creator on Facebook, but I was also able to meet a lot more people on a different spectrum.."
This is literally everything I've been asking for since I was a kid. Just to get out there, hoop, and get paid to do it too.
DAVID: