In an interview with Business Insider, "NBA 2K" Gameplay Director Mike Wang said the development team began work to add the WNBA to the game years ago, but they wanted to make sure the process wasn't rushed. The creative team at 2K spent that time scanning the faces of WNBA players and going through the same complex motion capture process they use to animate the stars of the NBA. Wang also said the engine of "NBA 2K" has been tweaked across the board to match the speed, style, and finesse of the WNBA, instead of being a mirror image of regular NBA matchups.
"NBA 2K" isn't the first video game to include WNBA players, Electronic Arts' "NBA Live 18" introduced WNBA teams more than two years ago. However, their inclusion in "NBA Live 18" and "NBA Live 19" felt somewhat incomplete. WNBA teams were only able to play exhibition games, in "NBA Live 19," and while players could make their own female players, they were relegated to 3-on-3 matchups with mixed-gender teams, rather than the being able to play in the WNBA exclusively.
In contrast, "NBA 2K20" offers a traditional "Season" mode for the WNBA based on the 2019 schedule of matchups, giving players an opportunity to play through a full 34-game schedule with each team in the women's league. This encourages gamers to learn more about the WNBA and the individual players as they try to build the strongest team possible.