BallLikeSeem is Adding His Own Sauce to the Recipe for Success
May 31, 2019
Waseem Talbert is usually pretty quiet when he’s playing on the biggest stage in NBA 2K, but his game and his style do plenty of talking.
His outfits resemble what you might see on an NBA player as they stroll into the arena. Recently, he’s been rocking a colorful Supreme hoodie and rotating between different kicks that most sneakerheads would be drooling over.
“I just like getting dressed,” said Talbert, better known as BallLikeSeem. “I see a lot of rappers and other people and I might see something I like to put an outfit together.”
Though his drip might be what catches your attention, it’s his game that keeps it.
BallLikeSeem has emerged as an integral part of Kings Guard Gaming this year. He’s averaging 17.9 points, 3.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in his nine regular season games – serving as a reliable scoring threat that’s propelling a strong season for Sacramento.
The 20-year-old has been lighting it up in his sophomore season, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching his face during most of the games.
Beneath that calm demeanor lies a fiery competitor who wants to win at all costs and this desire can be traced back to some of Talbert’s earliest days growing up in North Philadelphia.
At the age of 5, he would play Dragon Ball Z on Playstation 2 with his cousins. Since the console could only allow two players at a time, the loser of the fights would have to pass the sticks. So Seem figured if he wanted to play, he had to win.
From there, his desire to best the competition continued to grow and he’d frequently wager money with friends in high school on 2K games – a side hustle that he said proved to be rather fruitful.
Once he graduated and enrolled at Delaware State, his obsession with 2K increased.
“My schedule in college would be me going to class and then after that I’m going to the gym,” said No. 7. “After that I go eat and then basically from 10 pm to 2 or 3 in the morning, I’m playing 2K.”
Even though Seem is very close to his family, they weren’t always the biggest fans of his video game habits.
“We begged him not to take his game [console to college]. We knew the hours. He took the game anyway,” Waseem’s aunt said between laughter.
Putting in the hours was certainly one example of the Philly native’s quest to be the best player he could be, but once he started playing 2K with higher stakes than ever – he made sure to get every competitive edge.
During the $250,000 Pro-Am Tournament in 2K17, Talbert would actually block out his family’s electronic devices from connecting to the wifi in his home so that only his console and phone would be taking up the bandwidth.
“They understood, but I know my Mom hated that sometimes,” said the Kings Guard forward. “At the same time, she understood I had to do it since I would be up there raging if I was lagging or something.”
BallLikeSeem’s talents eventually took him to Mavs Gaming during the inaugural season of the 2K League. After not getting retained following his rookie season, Sacramento jumped on the chance to pick up the sharpshooter with the first pick in the second round of the 2019 Draft.
Since he’s arrived to Kings Guard, No. 7 has been behind two of the must clutch plays of the season.
First, it was when he lobbed up a game-winning alley-oop to Worthingcolt against CLTX Gaming.
FOR THE WIN ❗️❗️❗️@BallLikeSeem ↗️ @worhtingcolt_ pic.twitter.com/hU67XwCoST
— Kings Guard (@KingsGuardGG) April 26, 2019
Then he followed that up with a silky-smooth spin move to knock down a go-ahead jumper against Bucks Gaming.
FOR THE WIN 👑 @BallLikeSeem !!! pic.twitter.com/W1VF6pkmAx
— Kings Guard (@KingsGuardGG) May 17, 2019
When asked about what he would tell hopeful players trying to take their game to the next level, Talbert said: “Watch a lot of film of good players. Learn about what they do and try to mimic their game. Add your own sauce to it.”
This year, Seem has definitely been adding his own sauce to KGG. Whether it’s through the fits he wears or the quiet swagger he brings – he’s making sure everyone is aspiring to BallLikeSeem.