It’s another year and another NBA 2K release and this year is NBA 2K25 and I could not be more keen to see Jayson Tatum from the Boston Celtics rocking the front cover. A’ja Wilson and Vince Carter are joining him as this year’s cover athletes. It’s always great seeing the hype behind these games when they are released each year and how die-hard the fan base is.

I’m starting to sound like a broken record with these titles saying they’re the best and most immersive they’ve ever been and somehow the developers make it feel more real and more immersive. With the technology forever advancing that will be the case till it physically can’t be better. The developers have added NBA 2K25 ProPLAY which adds more authentic movements to the title and makes everything look and feel more real and fluid. There have been 9,000 ProPLAY animations added to NBA 2K25 which were pulled from real-world NBA footage and added into the game, with 1,500 of those being dribbling so we are not getting things like experiencing those times where your dribbling and ball is jumping all over the place or through your foot or something.

This works well with the new dribbling engine which has been added which is the biggest change to gameplay in 15 years and as I mentioned before looks amazing with how it performs and how it looks whilst playing. There have been 1,100 signature shot animations from most of the rosters of NBA 23 and 24 seasons so you could throw some iconic shots if you are lucky enough. The animations from the players both on and off the court look amazing and are a much-welcomed new feature to the 2K series. There have been some great updates for both offensive and defensive players on how the game runs and feels and it is something you might want to spend a little time getting used to before jumping into something like Proving Ground.

MP is back and for those who don’t know who MP is, he is your created player who you are throwing into Career mode. Career mode ties in quite well with The City which we will mention more about shortly but the Career mode is starting to feel more like a deja vu. I would love to see them add more to the stories to make them more authentic each year and not the same thing. This year’s whole idea was building the new great dynasty which you might have guessed is the point of each year.

The entire goal is to make your player the G.O.A.T and the game wants you to dethrone people like Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls. I mentioned last year that I wish they had put more time into the voice acting. You spend the time in MyPlayer to build what you want him/her to look like only for them to sound like they want to be a rapper. It would be great to see something like the ability to change their approach to things talking-wise. You can spend some time going back in the ages from your high school days to FIBA “The International Basketball Federation” games before you strap on the shoes for some iconic NBA teams. I normally go to the Boston Celtics or the New York Knicks but this year I went for the red and black with the Chicago Bulls.

It’s always great when developers take the time to listen to the community which they have done with this year’s variation of The City. In previous years the cities have been bigger areas where everyone was spread out and everything had its area where you needed to adventure. That is not the case with this year’s city as it’s much smaller, everything feels like the same space but spread out enough where all the empty areas have been removed and made into something usable.

There have been some well-known additions added back into this year’s title, of which a welcomed face from 2K15 is back which the community should be pumped about. Proving Grounds is back for those who are a little more competitive it is a colosseum-inspired looking arena that needless to say is intense as it’s ranked where you can jump in on 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, or 5v5 games. For the couple, I jumped in on I felt like I was the team’s mascot but that is beside the point if you are used to playing a little more casually the first thing you will notice is that comp-level difficulty sliders are on and shot meters have been turned off so you will need to know when the best time to throw the ball is without an on-screen prompt.

MyCourts has made a comeback and feels more fleshed out than before, this adds the ability to practice and hone your skills on the court without having others cramping your style. I spent a little time here practising throwing those epic three-pointers or moving in nice and close to the ring to dangle off it after a slam dunk. This does not feel like somewhere you would spend too much time in as The City is more of an interactive experience and even if you are practising, I find it more fun on the actual court under some pressure versus others.

I’d like a show of hands who has been playing since NBA 2K15 because a well-requested game is back and that is MyPark which is now a decade since we have seen it in an NBA title. For those who played in 2K15, you will see some familiar courts that have been fully remastered with current-generation graphics and lighting to make them feel more alive than ever and get the players immersed in the mode.

We have mentioned enough features for returning players but for new players don’t be stressed there are HoloHelp locations around the city where you can go, these will show you a breakdown of how each mode works and what is expected from you the player. The developers do not expect new players to join and have to jump into Proving Grounds or MyPark, so you can join one of the two groups within the city called ELITE and RISE which are casual courts where beginners can get the feel of the game online without versing AI and scoring those 100 point games with ease.

They’ve also added a new Squad Finder feature where you can define who you are looking to play with, and it will find you the perfect squad to play ball with. This is a fantastic idea from the developers to bring more people into the game without them getting smashed by seasoned veterans.

The game I spend too much time on has received its biggest update with four new game modes added and a new year-long MyTeam REP system with perks and rewards built into the mode. The Auction House has made its return which makes me shudder a little thinking about it. You now have the option of Triple Threat Park, Showdown, Breakout, and King of the Court so there are many choices for playing with your dream team lineup. I mentioned before the Auction House has made a return so some of these iconic players you want you will now be able to purchase but at what price is the biggest question. I have been keeping a little eye on the Auction House to see if I can pick myself up a Scottie Pippen card. I’ve managed to be lucky enough in my packs to get Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The new reputation system built into MyTeam has a great introductory feature this year as it is not something that resets with each season and will be year-long, so you can build your reputation up until NBA 2K26 and start all over again. I like the helping prompts around The City you can also do, some great tutorials will teach new players the basics of MyTeam and the basics of NBA 2K gameplay, so you can get the best experience from the game without being thrown into the deep end. There are some great challenges built into this which can get you some VC if you want to purchase more cards without spending real money on the in-game currency.

This could be an unpopular opinion and that is MyNBA Eras is quite easily my favorite game mode. These eras are broken down into some iconic times in the NBA, like The Magic vs Bird Era, The Jordan Era, The Kobe Era, The LeBron Era, The Steph Era, and the Modern Era, the newest one being added this year is The Steph Era where fans can relive and rewrite the championship-studded legacy that Stephen Curry, and the 2017 Golden State Warriors which I’m sure most NBA will remember.

It’s a great feature if you jump into something like The Jordan Era which the developers did a great job making look time-relevant. It’s a little too time-relevant and looks more blurry and unplayable than anything I would have been happy enough with, a small filter added and a UI change but not to make it look like it was made back in The Jordan Era of NBA.

MyGM is back and needless to say, I’m useless jumping into the role of the team’s General Manager and this year feels more hectic than ever before. The conversations you have with some people are the complete opposite of how I would be but maybe that also ties into having to be nice to people. It would be great for people who like the backend of teams and want to see it from another perspective but I prefer being on the court amongst the action.

WNBA or The W are back again and highlight the women in the WNBA. There have been some great changes where more narrative has been added, and I’m not gonna lie the game itself feels different in the WNBA, it does not feel quite as sweaty for some reason. The developers have added the new Pursuit of Greatness story which adds press conferences and lots of decision making which people should be used to from the MyCareer. They’ve also changed the W Online game to be a little more inviting and added mentorship which helps you to want to finish your goals. There are some stunning outdoor courts you can play at and with this current technology look amazing.

If you are like me and pump through making your player look sick, then get stuck when it comes to making the build, fear no more as there are new options to help people like me. There is Create Your Own, NBA Player Template, Community Builds, and Pro-Tuned Builds, and needless to say as soon as I saw I could make my character play like James Harden I was sold. Pro-Tuned builds are for those professionals who like getting into the nitty and gritty of the building stage, with currently 74 well-balanced Pro-Tuned builds on position and best skills. 2K has also added a step above Hall of Fame called Legend which you can unlock the badge for if you become good enough on the court with your player.

I was super impressed to see the new Learn2K mode which like the other helpers will show everyone the basic mechanics of 2K, to help you make some of the more advanced moves. You can play mini-games, run drills, or practice different scenarios so if you are in a sticky situation you can find your way out of it quite easily. It’s not something that can only be used by new players; older players can use it to brush up on their skills, or if you are a noob like me become better.

I’m going to make a little mention for the PC players, as the developers have not forgotten about you as you now have access to the current generation of NBA, so you can experience all the beautiful functions of ray tracing and other goodies as long as your hardware can handle it.

The additional movement additions to this game made all the controls feel more fluid this year and didn’t feel so sketchy when you were dribbling and something else was happening that put you off. If you are a returning player the controls are the same and as the good old quote states “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and it is not broken. If you are a new player to the 2K series I would highly recommend checking out Learn2K and learning all the fundamentals of the game.

I’m always keen to launch these games and listen to the soundtrack built into the title as it’s always awesome with some absolute banger songs. You get the commentary team who sound unreal and then you have how MP talks which we won’t mention again. Everything sounds so cool in these titles, and they immerse you in basketball.

When you can see the individual sweat lines on a player you know graphics have gone a long way. There is something about seeing the glossy timber and the glow from the wax. These games have come so far from the pixelated look we had years ago to now looking so real it’s hard to see the difference between the game and the TV.

I’ve mentioned this before and would love the NBA 2K series to be made live servers so people could keep playing and advancing without needing to restart each year. For the die-hard fans that purchase the game each year and keep advancing, you will like a couple of new features built into this title and who knows you might find me on the courts and proceed to kick my ass.

Written by: Hayden Nelson