Hi there,

I admit I haven't played a DDS:PB game since 2017 since I get the DDS:CB every year and that takes up most of my time.

However, I'm curious about delving back into DDS:PB especially the historical replay modes. I'm very interested to start back in the 80s and change the course of history. However, I wanted to know how historical players progress through their careers. Is it 100% mapped to their real life careers, is it dependent on the game itself and how you develop them and the situation they are in?

Say for example lets say its 1982 and Dominque Wilkins is drafted by the Lakers instead of James Worthy (i.e. they switch places) will their respective 'skills' develop the same or if Wilkins is forced to play a 3rd option vs Worthy becoming a #1 option in Atlanta would Worthy instead develop into a different type of scoring leader type player?

Hope someone can help out.

This is a very good question and I am also curious on the answer.

I have been playing DDSPB for many years and this is what I know about development :

- Each player has current ratings and potential ratings
- There is a boost in ratings during the year (I think around January/February)
- There is a boost in ratings during summer at training camp
- A big time injury can reduce the potential ratings of a player, basically stop/limit his progression

What I do not know and I am also very curious about :

- Are potential ratings reached all the time (except in case of a big injuries)?
- Does playing time and playoffs time influence the development of a player?
- Does the quality of the staff influence the development of a player?

I would love to see a complete description of the development process in DDSPB. And maybe have it adjusted to reference games like Football Manager :

- Each player has current ability score
- Each player has potential ability score (usually a bracket of potential and each new game will randomly select a value in this bracket). e.g. potential is 150-180, when the game starts it can be 152 or 177 which can change the outcome of every new game.
- The ratings will evolve based on playing time (very important), position played, training facilities, training staff.

So if you keep a high potential player on the bench, he will have a very slow progression and most probably never reach his potential, while when your team has no chance to make the playoffs (like OKC nowadays), you want to have your youngster getting experience on the court.