Ronnie Singh Talks the Future of NBA 2K and His Bold Call for the 2025 NBA Finals

Ronnie 2K picks the Boston Celtics with Jason Tatum (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) as the NBA champions in 2025

Ronnie 2K – AKA Ronnie Singh – is the most prominent name attached to the NBA 2K video game franchise. Although "lifestyle and content marketing" is his actual job title, he's constantly featured in commercials, events associated with the NBA 2K video game and has relationships with a number of NBA players since he joined 2K Sports back in 2008.

"Who would have thought this platform of video games would pop up these opportunities to be on a billboard in Times Square and to do a billboard in Vegas for Hilton," said Singh in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of his new Lids holiday commercial. "Who would have thought that would come from gaming? How impactful and important gaming streamers are and how they're getting highlighted in television, movies and all these commercials. It's super cool in this era from gaming and streamers who generally played the game as a recreation. For this to open up these opportunities is pretty crazy."

The 2K franchise is the dominant force in basketball’s video game industry, largely unchallenged for the past decade-and-a-half. The last time there was a large-scale opposing video game released in the basketball genre was NBA Live 19, the former EA video game series that was once the dominant basketball release in the video game industry. It wasn't until the late 2000's, when 2K surpassed the Live series in sales, that 2K became the dominant force in the industry.

"I don't know if it's a challenge, but we shed blood, sweat and tears as an annualized title every year," said Singh when asked about the challenges of making a game with no direct competition.

"There's no other annual title that moves their game product as much as we do. We compete with ourselves. Last year's game is always the best product we want to put out and we continue to raise the bar and one-up when it comes to showcasing the NBA in its realest and truest form. 

The Evolution of the NBA

Singh spoke in detail about his admiration for the rapid evolution of the game of basketball, hoping to capture the essence of the NBA year after year at 2K.

"With the evolution of the NBA, it's more exciting, there's more going on, and we as a video game simulation want to capture that," Singh continues to say. "That's how I think about it when we go to market, competitor or not. We were doing that back then, we're continuing to do that now, our biggest competition has always been ourselves."

The latest incarnation of the NBA 2K series, NBA 2K25, was released just two months prior. While it's too early to outline specific ways that they're looking to upgrade for next year's game, Singh said the 2K team is always looking to "push the envelope."

"It's hard to talk about eight weeks after the 2K25 launch," said Singh. "We're going to continue to push the envelope and innovate and try to get closer to the NBA product than we've ever been before. Within those real-life conversations, we're always pushing ourselves. In terms of specific features, we've already started that because we have to due to the short down cycle. But what they specifically are, we're in the early phase of planning."

NBA Predictions

As far as his pick to win the NBA Finals when it comes to the real thing, Singh predicts the 2K25 cover star Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics – he initially picked the Philadelphia 76ers before the season – to win it all over the Denver Nuggets.

Singh believes that the Sixers need to "get healthy" if they want to make a potential run to the Finals. They're currently off to a horrid start at 2-9 – the second-worst record in the East – due to early-season injuries to stars Joel Embiid and Paul George.

"I'm hoping the Sixers get healthy," he said. "I made my pick before the stuff with Joel Embiid started happening, so I hope that they right the ship. All of the talent is there. Tyrese Maxey has taken another huge evolutionary step in his game. They have to get healthy; they have to stay healthy, that's a big question mark."

Singh mentioned how it will take time for the Nuggets to continue to integrate Russell Westbrook into the lineup. Denver is off to a solid start this season at 7-3 and have won their past five games, including one over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Thank God the Nuggets are starting to play a little better," retorted Singh. "The things that are difficult about a big personality like Russell Westbrook joining a team that's won a championship, is that it's going to take some time."

And while he's not predicting the Thunder to make it to the Finals this season, Singh does believe Oklahoma City will be the team to beat over the next decade. The Thunder are by far the youngest team in the NBA at just 24.1 years of age, with the next-closest being the Chicago Bulls at 25.1 years old.

"I didn't even mention the Thunder – I know Chet Holmgren just got hurt – they look like they're going to be in the Finals for the next eight years," responded Singh. "They're going to be in everyone's emulation as a potential champion every single year for the next decade, which is pretty crazy."