A Distortion in Reality
I wasn't planning on doing a QS between 2000 and 2023, but 39_Ringo suggested this, so I had to.
Because the Bulls had won 7 Nihon-Koku Series championships (even if they were all in the 1950s), and the Thunder hadn't, I made the decision to flip which team gets deactivated to better match the IRL results in [LEAGUE REDACTED]. Thus, the Bulls franchise survives, the Gladiators/Thunder are toast, and the Woodpeckers are starting up to fill their place.
This quickstart takes place on the day of a free agent draft that mirrors the IRL 2005 dispersal draft - the Bulls get 25 picks first, then the Woodpeckers get 20, then they alternate another 20.
Have fun!
EDIT: the draft order in the QS didn't do what I wanted it to, so please try the attached instead.
EDIT 2: also forgot to include the playoff setup! Ladder style, 2-seed hosts 3-seed for best of three, then best of five with the top seed, all games at the upper seed, before the NKS.
P.S. The Dolphins finally won a title in 2002!