About Online Basketball Manager (OBM)

OBM started as a Discord bot during university around 2022. The original idea was simple: build something that let a group of friends simulate NBA games against each other in a Discord server. You typed a command, picked your teams, and got a score back. It worked, people enjoyed it, and it kept growing.

The bot eventually became a full browser-based game at playobm.com. What started as a single simulation command is now a franchise career mode with 82-game seasons, live standings, trades between real managers, training programs, and a play-by-play SimCast feed that generates audio commentary in your browser. The same simulation engine from that first bot still runs every game today, just significantly expanded.

The inspiration was Online Soccer Manager — a game that gives football fans the depth of managing a real club, competing against real opponents, across a real season structure. There was nothing like that for basketball. OBM is the attempt to build it. Players use NBA 2K-style ratings drawn from real rosters. The simulation accounts for individual tendencies, pace, defensive archetypes, and bench depth. It is not a perfect model, but it is a genuine one.

The whole thing is built and maintained by one person. There has been no paid marketing. Growth has come from people sharing it, from Discord communities, and from a TikTok page that occasionally lands in front of the right audience. OBM is live at playobm.com and free to play. If you have feedback, questions, or want to report something broken, reach out at playobm@gmail.com.