User Score
2.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 208 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 208
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  1. Jun 24, 2021
    0
    takes 20 minutes to load into continue mycareer and 20 minutes to load into the rec. haven’t been able to play a park game yet i got out of rookie series no problem. want to change clothes? another 20 minute wait. want to go to the gym so you can get boosts? okay, 20 minutes. it is ridiculous. when i actually wait and load into a rec game the connection is perfect so it isn’t my internet.takes 20 minutes to load into continue mycareer and 20 minutes to load into the rec. haven’t been able to play a park game yet i got out of rookie series no problem. want to change clothes? another 20 minute wait. want to go to the gym so you can get boosts? okay, 20 minutes. it is ridiculous. when i actually wait and load into a rec game the connection is perfect so it isn’t my internet. im going back to current gen, what a waste of money Expand
  2. Jul 14, 2021
    0
    trash shot meter, microtransaction vc, pay to win mechanics, lootboxes, glitchy and broken gameplay 2k has slowly became EA NBA 2K IS OVERRATED anyway
  3. Jul 14, 2021
    0
    Both Next Gen and Current Gen versions add nothing to a formula that has been rinsed and repeated for an exhausting amount of time now. Micro transactions fuelling seemingly every choice made in the game’s production. MyCareer has fallen so far in a handful of years. 2K again focused on the wrong things that no one cares about and have provided such a restrictive created tool, purelyBoth Next Gen and Current Gen versions add nothing to a formula that has been rinsed and repeated for an exhausting amount of time now. Micro transactions fuelling seemingly every choice made in the game’s production. MyCareer has fallen so far in a handful of years. 2K again focused on the wrong things that no one cares about and have provided such a restrictive created tool, purely focused on generating micro transactions and worrying about online balance. No thought given to those who would want to just create a player and become the greatest the NBA has ever seen.

    MyTeam is essentially a cash grab exercise. Challenges and collecting so deep no one would ever get through it all, catching every Pokémon would be a far easier challenge. Nothing new added to the MyLeague experience for what feels like a decade now. The lack of effort here makes my attempts to get to the gym three times a weak look like I have Kobe Bryant like dedication.

    And nothing knew added. Scratch that, content we used to have is still missing. No creating a legend mode. Not challenges related to the cover athlete like with LeBron different challenges back in 14. Missing legends still. The fact that 2K increases micro transactions and pay to win every year and still can’t find the cash to meet Reggie and Charles halfway is ludicrous. Not really any new teams no thought put into creating older season rosters to play.

    I hate myself for knowing I’ll go buy it again next year
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  4. Jul 31, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not recommended. Same like 2k20 just new rosters. Better save your money... Expand
  5. Aug 11, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is just so incredibly bad. MyTeam is the definition of pay-to-win. On top of that this is the least realistic 2K to date. There is a Ben Simmons card with a 99 3 pointer. There’s a Giannis card with a 99 free throw. This game is so unrealistic that mid range shots don’t even exist when you play online. Anything inside the 3 point line is a bad shot. MyCareer is terrible with a horrible story line. You cannot get drafted first overall for whatever reason. You can score 100 points with 30 rebounds and the best you can do is get drafted second. Oh… and the person who gets drafted first goes to the same team as you and plays the same position as you! Because every GM thinks it’s a great idea to draft the exact same position with the first two picks in the draft. Also… has a single team EVER had the first and second pick in the draft in NBA history? The game is just terrible. Expand
  6. Oct 3, 2021
    0
    I really can't unterstand what game critics are playing if they rate this piece of garbage 79.
    I kinda stick to it since i don't know any other NBA simulation, but this game should be forbidden for it's lack of everything.
    I played MyCareer and MyTeam the past weeks and both are pure junk. In the career mode you start with a player (got drafted #2 in the NBA) who is not able to make open
    I really can't unterstand what game critics are playing if they rate this piece of garbage 79.
    I kinda stick to it since i don't know any other NBA simulation, but this game should be forbidden for it's lack of everything.
    I played MyCareer and MyTeam the past weeks and both are pure junk. In the career mode you start with a player (got drafted #2 in the NBA) who is not able to make open layups. I mean yeah, you are at the start of your career, but if you can't make open layups without a perfect timing this just sucks. The menu is trash like always, 2k leaves no chance to let you know that they give a **** about players who want to play single player only, they kinda try to force you to playing online.
    Let's get to the MyTeam mode. This - i am not exaggerating - is the worst thing that i have ever seen in games in my life. First of all you can't really come far without playing online. Seriously, if they want people to play online they can drop a F2P version of their game, just give players the option to choose how to play! Especially since this is pay2win, like pay tons of money to get the best players because you can open thousands of packs. If you don't want to spend money you have to play like 10-15 games to get ONE single GOAT pack for example. And in that you don't even get a safe GOAT or Invincible. For that kind of pack you can't even pay with the MyTeam currency, only with VC (which is again the currency you buy from real money or earn in other modes). So you can choose to either earn VC very hard on MyCareer and play like 20+ games for one pack and have NOTHING left to spend on your player or you just buy this **** which i will never do. Can anyone explain to me what the point of a special currency in a mode is (like the MT points) if you can buy like 1 or 2 packs from over 15 different packs? I think there are only two themes of packs which you can buy with MT.
    Over the past 3 games i made 16 videos of how horrible and absurd the game ist. I got an team with a 97 rating, trying to beat the Mav's on "domination best of" (also 97) for the past 5 games. Sure, i am not the best 2k player, but i only filmed moments that had nothing to do with me. A few examples: my players running outside the line while receiving a pass -> turnover. Players with a 99 3pointers rating not being able to shoot open 3s (i rarely get the perfect timing, but i'm always in the green). At the same time the opponent CPU team hitting 3s however they like with players with 85 ratings and hitting every single one of them. Changing tactics to protect the perimeter -> my team mates randomly getting away near the paint sometimes leaving the shooters open, that's like the OPPOSITE of protecting the perimeter. Players like Stockton (98 rating) not being able to hit layups if the defender is protecting, at the same time PGs and SGs dominating my 99 Ewing in the paint again and again. Passes that end up being a turnover because you press the button while having a clear passline to a player, but the receiving player running so stupidly that the pass comes directly into the direction of a opponent player.
    Seriously, my 99 players play like they are toddlers so you can give NOTHING on the ratings.
    All in all the game is so rigged. Have you for example noticed, that the chance of a 3pt or a "and one" is incredibly high if the point difference is odd? Whenever the score difference is odd something will happen that makes it even again - freethrows (like you missing one of two with a 99 rating player and good timing OR the enemy getting an"and one"), the opponent hitting 3s or anything like that. The camera sometimes work so badly that if you are on the line you can't see the shootingbar cause the camera seems to be stuck in cutscene mode. I could go on like that for hours, this game is frustrating and builds up so much anger because no matter how you play, the game has it's ways to make you lose. And all that would be not so much pain if it weren't those damn contracts. Every single game you lose a contract and you have two chances to keep your team: buying packs and getting contracts from there or playing perfectly, like winning every game since you can get some from earning prices. The auctionhouse also trashy like hell. The number of the highest bid is never right, whenever i bid it says the highest bid is higher.
    The big problem is: i WANT to play basketball so i must play this junk or nothing. But if that is not the case do yourself a favour and eliminate the game from your life, i promise you you will feel better that way.
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  7. Nov 14, 2021
    0
    The game sucks because i have really good badges and its inposible me to miss i dont why in mising the shoting is not good in this game
  8. Jun 2, 2022
    0
    yo no se que clase de desarrolladora con mas de 3 punto de IQ se atrevería a crear mierda y despues comercializarla por $1500 MX yo que hoy en día la industria de los juegos pasa por un bajón tremendo de calidad puesto que los juegos buenos de hoy en día se cuentas con los dedos de una mano, si realmente crees que este juego vale 1 solo minuto de tu tiempo te aconsejo mejor que golpes tuyo no se que clase de desarrolladora con mas de 3 punto de IQ se atrevería a crear mierda y despues comercializarla por $1500 MX yo que hoy en día la industria de los juegos pasa por un bajón tremendo de calidad puesto que los juegos buenos de hoy en día se cuentas con los dedos de una mano, si realmente crees que este juego vale 1 solo minuto de tu tiempo te aconsejo mejor que golpes tu cabeza una y otra vez contra la pared porque será mas divertido que esta basura de juego, pay to win, malos controles, inteligencia artificial tan mala que podría ser superada por un PC de los 80s, por favor no acepten este juego pero ni regalado. Expand
  9. Aug 27, 2022
    0
    I did not but this game, I bootlegged it. After even bootlegging and playing it I still wanted a refund from EA. Since the game that I had was not the official game I can't say anything about the online, so I stick with the CO-OP. I play on a PC with a PS5 controller and I got to say the game sucks really bad. Shooting: even if you are wide-open your still miss if your release is notI did not but this game, I bootlegged it. After even bootlegging and playing it I still wanted a refund from EA. Since the game that I had was not the official game I can't say anything about the online, so I stick with the CO-OP. I play on a PC with a PS5 controller and I got to say the game sucks really bad. Shooting: even if you are wide-open your still miss if your release is not excellent, unless you are Stephen Curry. AI's during a game my team would be on the other side of the court while the enemies team is already on the other side shooting. Blocking: every time I blocked it's a foul but when the enemy block me it's okay. In fact, I can guarantee that none of EA's engineer for this game have never played basketball let alone touch grass. All they know how to do is leetcode with no coding skills. As I mentioned I bootlegged this game and still felt cheated. Expand
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Dec 14, 2020
    80
    This PS5 edition offers new ideas and swish next-gen presentation. It looks, plays, and feels a step above PS4 but is held back by a similar need to open your wallet. [Issue#183, p.80]
  2. Dec 10, 2020
    88
    NBA 2K21 on PS5 is a significant and stunning next-gen upgrade: this is the best title that fans deserve, and an absolutely great and genuine multiplayer experience.
  3. Dec 9, 2020
    78
    Visually impressive basketball sim that is simply breathtaking on the court. In terms of game moeds you feel the old gen remains – as you do in the still annoying micro transactions.