Rising Aussie NBA star Dante Exum is now part of his favourite video game NBA 2K15

AUSTRALIA’S hottest new basketball export Dante Exum is now part of his favourite video game and will feature in the eagerly anticipated NBA 2K15.

WHEN you think of future multi-millionaire NBA players who have already signed lucrative contracts with Red Bull, Adidas and trading card company Panini, you tend to think of cocky American men who think they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread.

But that’s not what I found when I went to a tiny hotel room 90 minutes outside San Francisco to see Australia’s latest, hottest basketball prospect, Dante Exum, be scanned in as a player for NBA 2K15, three months before the NBA draft.

Once he’d finished making faces for the 16 strategically placed cameras that were getting a 3D image of his head, he got out of character as the overly confident man, and went back to being the kind, modest, polite, awkward teenager from Melbourne’s Point Cook.

It says a lot about how sure everyone was that Exum would be a success that video game maker 2K would go to this much effort to include a virtual unknown in their game. Not every player gets the full 3D mapping and mo-capping treatment (though that is a goal for future games), so to set all this up for a guy, who at that point hadn’t even been drafted to a team, makes a big statement.

Dante Exum suited up in the motion capture studio making the NBA 2K15 video game.

Understandably, Exum found it slightly weird to be scanned into his favourite game.

“It’s all a bit surreal,” he says. “Just playing the game and knowing next year I’m going to be in it, and have a character of my own. It’s a bit lights-in-the-face, but I take it one step at a time and when it comes around I’ll be excited.”

The day progressed to the large 2K basketball mo-capping studio, where Exum played some NBA 2K14 with the media, which is when he started to get really comfortable, commenting that he thought he was the best NBA 2K player in Australia, despite only picking up the game for the first time three years ago.

He drew the first round, which damaged his claim somewhat, but beat me in a not-so-close second round. Interestingly, although he seemed to be aiming to be drafted to the LA Lakers before the draft, and eventually went to the Utah Jazz as the fifth pick overall, he favoured playing with the digital LA Clippers.

“I like to play as the Clippers because they’ve got a good point guard, good shooters and a fun dynamic with Griffin and DeAndre doing alley-oops,” he says.

He also later clarified, showing reasonable media training, that despite signing with Lakers star Kobe Bryant’s manager and moving to LA, he had no real team preference.

“I want to be put in the best situation possible for me. Whether that’s the Lakers or not I just want to be on a team that’s going to do right by me and hopefully I get a chance to play.”

He shoots, he scores. ... Gaming writer Alice Clarke and Dante Exum playing NBA 2K14.

Given that his first ever basket in the NBA summer league last week was an alley-oop slam dunk, and he scored 10 points, four rebounds and three assists total in his debut game, he seems to be fitting in quite well at the Jazz. The two-year contract worth around $9.5 million probably helps, too.

Suiting up against him, so he had someone to play with to create more natural animations for use in-game, was Steven Holt. Holt frequently helps out at the studio as a sparring partner because he lives close by. Sadly, despite having a good college basketball record at Saint Mary’s, he was overlooked in this year’s draft, however he is currently playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer league, if you want to check him out.

It’s weird seeing two amazing basketball players face off against each other in a friendly competition while they’re both wearing jumpsuits and beanies covered in tiny, reflective balls.

Exum dunks for the Utah Jazz during the first half of an NBA summer league basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Las Vegas last week. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

While you want to take a future NBA star seriously, especially while he’s playing, it’s tough to do so while he looks like he’s wearing the worst homemade superhero costume ever. As funny as it was to watch him wearing the suit, Exum says it’s not a picnic to wear.

“It is uncomfortable, you get used to it when you’re not thinking about it,” he says. “But as soon as you think about it you’re just itchy and hot.”

It’s acknowledged by several NBA stars that the NBA 2K games are the best way to play NBA without picking up a ball, and Exum says it’s a small, but helpful part of his prep for the real game.

“It’s different, because you can be a whole team compared to just one player when you’re in real life,” he said. “Playing 2K is definitely fun for me because you get to go on post and play with one of the NBA players. But getting to go out onto the court and practice the stuff NBA players do is also really good.”

Despite all his current success, Exum, who is a loyal Essendon Bombers fan, has only just started. Not bad for a guy who turned 19 last week.

NBA 2K15 comes out October 9.

Alice went to San Francisco as a guest of 2K.

Originally published as Rising Aussie NBA star Dante Exum is now part of his favourite video game NBA 2K15