2K rebounds with the best playing NBA 2K in years, but YourWallet is still what they’re after
We’re in the run-up to another NBA season, which means the air is getting crisp, the PSL is back, everything smells like apples, and we’ve got a new NBA 2K game to review. Over the last several years, the NBA 2K franchise has expanded to include several new modes and the WNBA. At times, it’s felt like this expansion has been at the expense of refining the on-court gameplay. This year seems to have reversed that trend, with some significant changes to the way the game plays and the mode selection getting more of a light coat of paint. This translates to an NBA 2K that plays better than any have in years, albeit with some of the same rough edges fans have complained about for a long time.
If you played NBA 2K25 you’ll be immediately familiar with the content on display here. MyGM is back and, with the exception of the addition of a team specific storyline for each of the 30 NBA teams, you’ll find it largely unchanged. It’s still the same menu heavy GM simulator mode that is common in sports games, with some added “walk around this building and talk to these people” to make it seem more like a modern video game and less like a text adventure. Of course you can still play normal season modes, exhibition games, and playoff games through the MyNBA mode if the action is more your speed than setting popcorn prices.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
It wouldn’t be a sports game in 2025 without a gratiuitous card game mode, so MyTeam returns as well. The WNBA is now integrated into MyTeam, a welcome addition that continues the slow annual expansion of the WNBA’s presence in these games to something that will (hopefully) eventually resemble parity. WNBA cards slot in on your team right next to your NBA players, and they will share the court when you play. If you’re new to this type of mode the tutorial does an admirable job of explaining everything, but sometimes strays a little to far into “baby’s first basketball lesson” for me. Just because I don’t understand the myriad of currencies, multipliers, evolutions, and upgrades on display here doesn’t mean I need the menu to explain to me what a rebound is. If you, like me, aren’t really into the type of gameplay that MyTeam brings you’re not going to find anything this time around that will change your tune but I’m sure the new additions are meaningful to what must be a large swath of players, considering how ubiquitous these card game modes have become.
As always, the primary draw here is the combined triumvirate of MyPlayer, MyCareer, and The City. Much to my chagrin, these three modes continue to be inexorably linked together with the story of MyCareer being the usual table setter for the bulk of your NBA career. The story this year (which is skippable if you’d rather get right into the meat of your NBA career) is called “Out of Bounds” and it follows an unranked high schooler who has to resort to an outside the box path to the NBA through club teams and Europe. I’ve often complained about MyCareer building your player up as a top notch can’t miss prospect and then starting their rating out at 60. Apparently, the solution to this was just keep your starting rating as 60 but make your player more of a scrub who struggles to get noticed. I can’t say this was a change that made things more engaging. The story mode is a considerable step backward from past years, and I wasn’t drawn to any of the characters. Your player is equal parts whiney and arrogant, your “realist” agent is completely unengaging, and you’ll find that regardless of how well you perform in the club leagues and Europe it all ends with your player getting drafted at the top of the second round. Just a generally underwhelming entry in what has been a real mixed bag of MyCareer stories over the last several years.
I’ve long advocated for a split between MyCareer, MyPlayer, and The City over the years and I don’t feel any differently in 2025. There’s no reason, except the sale of Virtual Currency, for the single player Career mode to be this heavily tied into the online multiplayer that the vast majority of people come to this series for every year. As mentioned, your MyPlayer starts out as a 60 overall. In my review of last years game, I determined that it would take about 375,000 VC to max out your MyPlayer. The economy in this years game seems pretty similar, if not a little more expensive. Playing great in a career game will earn you about 900-1200 VC depending, which means you’re looking at 375 to 400 career games to max your player out (or between 4 and 5 full NBA seasons playing at your best every game). As always, I played through the career mode without using the bonus 100,000 VC that comes with the top edition of the game. Once my review of the mode was completed I spent the VC and only ended up at a 77 overall. All in all, if you’re someone who wants to immediately jump in online and be competitive, like last year you’re looking at an additional $99 to buy 450,000 VC on top of the price of the game or you can expect a significant grind. I hate that ecomonics and virtual currency has to be a topic of conversation in these reviews every year, but considering it essentially gates off the multiplayer it feels necessary.
If you’re primarily a fan of the online multiplayer, the good news is The City feels a lot more streamlined, easy to use, and compact than in previous years. Basically everything you’re going to want to do is close and it all runs well without hitches and glitches. The game also looks great, even more polished than in years past, with slick looking animations, menus, and player models.
In addition to the WNBA additions to MyTeam, The W has been expanded as well with some additional features to make it feel more like a real game mode and not a tack-on. That said, you’re still getting a much more watered down version of the MyCareer experience. Sure you’ve got some additional press conferences and off-court stuff to help cut down the menu heavy presentation, but we’re still a long way from feature parity. If 2K is going to incorporate the WNBA into the NBA 2K series its past time for it to feel like a truly alternate career mode.
By far the biggest positive for this years game is that the on court gameplay has undergone a pretty significant revision. Shot timing feels much smoother and easier. I was able to pretty quickly adjust to the timing and hit “greens” with much more consistency than in last years game. This is especially true for layups, which have a static shot meter now, cutting down on embarrassing misses right up next to the hoop. Three point shots are way easier to time and made perimeter play much more rewarding even at lower MyPlayer overall ratings. While the AI still has some challenges, particularly when it comes to picking up picks set by the user controlled player, it does seem to handle other situations much more deftly. Double teams and drives to kick-outs have gotten special attention and it definitely shows. It’s much easier to formulate a plan of attack that handles basically anything the opposition throws at you on defense. Speaking of defense, the game feels tighter on that end of the court as well with the updates to player motion and collision making a big difference. Overall this is the biggest year to year upgrade in the gameplay in the last 5 or 6 iterations, which means it’s also probably the most fun to play.
Thanks to these significant improvements to gameplay, its easy to recommend NBA 2K26 to both newcomers to the franchise and longtime fans. It’s the best playing basketball game we’ve gotten in years, at least 2K23. With that being said, it’s hard not to be frustrated with the things that are still holding the series back. The game would be well served by a firm split between MyCareer and The City, with a Career mode and progression system more akin to MLB: The Show and an online multiplayer component that emphasizes parity rather than pay to win (or in most cases pay to simply be competitive). Feels like this is a pipedream based on the revenue that the series brings in, but it would definitely improve the overall experience.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
