With every new release, there’s always the hope that the little annoyances you notice when playing over time get fixed. There are also the bigger problems that stand out like a sore thumb. Whatever issues I had with NBA 2K25, the good far outweighed the bad. It was a strong basketball game with plenty going for it. Saying that, NBA 2K26 has some small yet significant improvements to its gameplay that made playing more enjoyable and fluid that each game felt about as satisfying as it gets.
Movement is much smoother this time around. Running down the court and taking on the defence feels so much better. Driving through to the basket is easier, with the ability to surprise the opposition with a simple crossover becomes so satisfying. The robotic nature of movement has been stripped away. It became frustrating when you were brought to a standstill by a defender. You’re now given more freedom for moving like a knife through butter, whether you’re trying to be more aggressive on offence or trying to defend.
With more animations and additions to movesets, it makes for more creativity when driving to the basket. If you’re willing to be more aggressive, hitting a dunk from nowhere or dancing through defenders for a lay-up not only looks good, but it rewards you for taking a chance. Bigger players that lack speed but often dominate in the paint are also given more attention. Post shots look great, and pulling them off with style adds to your game. I could rely on such a deep bag of tricks without that feeling of failing before I’d even tried.
It also removes the predictability of certain shots from certain positions. You’re never finding a specific shot that works in a particular area of the court. With more versatile movement, there are more options for a successful shot, making every game feel unique. It’s the closest to a real game of basketball you can have. What makes playing much less irritating is the new and improved shot meter. It’s dynamic and pleasing, making shooting more enjoyable thanks to it adapting to various situations on the fly.
If you find space and become free, stopping the gauge in the green makes almost every shot land. Hitting threes are more likely, removing that fear that came from shooting last year. Jumpers inside the D, lay-ups, fade-aways. Whatever attempt you, the green hit point inside the gauge will increase and decrease depending on a player’s stats and how much resistance they’re facing. You quickly learn what’s going to work and what isn’t, but there’s more forgiveness when shooting in NBA 2K6, and it feels amazing.
NBA 2K26 looks absolutely incredible. The improvements to player fidelity is noticeable from the get go. Reflections on the court, crowd upgrades, and added animations to player responses are awesome. Arenas come alive in new ways thanks to accurate representation and the character of each venue, along with added entertainment on the court between timeouts and ends of quarters. It’s stunning in every single way, with no other sporting game coming close to the realism that NBA 2K26 offers this year.
As for the changes to the various modes in NBA 2K26, MyGM, and MyNBA are pretty much the same. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it feels like a fair idiom to use because these are the benchmark for solo players and they worked well last year. The main focus for current NBA 2K players is the online portion of the game. The City has received a substantial improvement due to the layout (and a frame-rate update, too), making everywhere much easier to get to. It feels both compact and freer, allowing you to find what you need to without spending ages to get there.
Every player has that one mode they love over everything else, and for me it’s MyTEAM. While much of it remains the same solid experience as previous titles, it’s got some cool new features as well. Game Changer Cards are a great addition, allowing you to utilise various consumables that help in a big way. Some will let you auto-evolve a player’s card or recover a win streak after a loss. You can also participate in 2v2 games as well as All-Star Team-Up, where you play in 5v5 matches with nine other real players in intense two six-minute halves.
Perhaps my favourite mode in MyTEAM is the Breakout Gauntlet. It puts all your cards to the test as you run the gauntlet against different teams. The difficulty increases as you play, and cards you use cannot be used again in the same run unless you complete various objectives to earn the ability to reuse a random card again. This helps you to make use of those lower rated cards you’ll probably end up selling or never using. There are also some nice rewards to unlock, especially when you get further up the gauntlet.
The inclusion of WNBA players in MyTEAM is cool. My only concern is that some of the stars are much smaller than those in the NBA and it can often affect tip-offs or attempted rebounds. It is by no means a deal-breaker, but it does make certain match-ups feel unbalanced. Another great improvement in NBA 2K26 is MyCAREER. Building that perfect player to start your journey off is more satisfying thanks to the MyPLAYER builder. There’s more direction thanks to the scouting report, and the option to pick real NBA players as your base is awesome.
The Out of Bounds story mode is pretty decent this year. While it features some of those familiar tropes as before, you’ll actually see your hard work pay off. Sometimes it wouldn’t matter how well you played in the past; the story would always just go through the motions with the same outcomes. This time, the teams you end up playing for in Europe or the NBA are dictated by your performance. You’re still MP, and you still fighting for your chance to play in the big leagues, but the character feels more authentic this time around.
NBA 2K26 is a solid improvement to last year, specifically in its gameplay. You have much more control over various shots thanks to the new shot meter. Player movement is much smoother and versatile. While some modes like MyGM feel like a carbon copy of NBA 2K25, there are plenty of improvements to The City and MyTEAM. With a story mode that is worth playing and plenty of improvements to its visuals, I was more than impressed with everything the current iteration of 2K’s flagship basketball sim has to offer.
