NBA 2K is an American series of basketball sports simulation video games developed by Visual Concepts and released annually since 1999. The premise of the series is to emulate the sport of basketball and the National Basketball Association.
The series was originally published by Sega. Beginning with 2005's NBA 2K6, the series is currently published by 2K (previously under the 2K Sports sub-label). As of 2024, the series consists of 25 main installments and several spinoff titles across eighteen different platforms. An official eSports league, the NBA 2K League, launched in 2018.
Until 2018, the series' primary rival was the NBA Live series published by EA Sports.
Since 2024, with the release of NBA 2K25, the series' tagline is "Ball Over Everything".
Gameplay Each installment in the NBA 2K series emulates the National Basketball Association, and present slight improvements over the previous installments. As such, gameplay simulates a typical game of basketball, with the player controlling an entire team or a select player; objectives coincide with the rules of basketball and presentation resembles actual televised NBA games. Various game modes have been featured in the series, allowing for gameplay variety. Numerous elements of the games feature customizable options. Each game features the teams and players from the current NBA season; historic NBA teams and players have also been featured, as have EuroLeague teams and (starting with NBA 2K20) WNBA teams. NBA 2K21 expanded WNBA integration with The W, a dedicated career mode allowing players to create a WNBA My PLAYER and compete across all 12 teams. Fictional players and teams can also be created and compiled."Looking back on NBA 2K: The best sports game of the last generation". Polygon (June 3, 2014). Retrieved January 4, 2017.Lien, Tracey (September 17, 2012). "Making 'That 2K': How Visual Concepts brought NBA 2K to dizzying heights". Polygon. Retrieved January 4, 2017.Good, Owen S. (February 15, 2015). "NBA 2K is bigger than Madden because it paid for others' failures". Polygon. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
A staple of the series is its career mode, which has been described as a sports-themed role-playing game. ESPN NBA Basketball was the first game in the series to feature such a mode, but it wasn't until NBA 2K10 and its successors that the mode became a more integral part of the series. The mode was initially titled 24/7, before being changed to MyPlayer, and settling on MyCareer. The modes center on the basketball career of the player's created player; the player customizes several aspects of their player and plays through their career in the NBA. Key events in the player's career are depicted, such as the draft and their retirement ceremony. A storyline is often present in the modes, and high school- and college-level basketball has also been depicted. The player upgrades their player's attributes as they play, and can participate in off-court activities.Mazique, Brian (October 2, 2012). "NBA 2K13: Tips for Building a Beastly 'My Player' in My Career Mode". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 8, 2017.Ahearn, Nate (September 21, 2009). "NBA 2K10: MyPlayer Hands-On". IGN. Retrieved January 8, 2017.S. Good, Owen (September 14, 2015). "NBA 2K16s latest trailer looks like a true Spike Lee joint". Polygon. Retrieved January 8, 2017.Kaiser, Rowan (February 1, 2013). "When sports and role-playing games collide". Engadget. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
Another mainstay of the series is a mode allowing the player to assume control of an NBA franchise, acting as a general manager. The mode has been featured in numerous NBA 2K games and is often titled Association; the most recent games in the series feature the MyGM and MyLeague modes. In the modes, the player controls virtually all aspects of a team, rather than just playing games with the team. As the player simulates through seasons, they must satisfy the needs of the team's personnel and the owner.Sarkar, Samit (November 8, 2013). "MyGm mode in next-gen NBA 2K14 forces you to be a people person". Polygon. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Bertz, Matt (August 19, 2015). "NBA 2K16 – 50 Exciting Changes Coming To NBA 2K16s Franchise Mode". Game Informer. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Bertz, Matt (September 4, 2015). "NBA 2K15 – 29 Reasons Why NBA 2K15s MyGM May Be The Future Of Franchise Modes". Game Informer. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
MyTeam mode, which was introduced in NBA 2K13, focuses on building a team of players and competing against other players' teams online. The player's primary venue for acquiring players for their team is card packs; the player purchases a card pack, which features random items the player can use in the mode, including players. In addition to compiling a select group of players, the player can also customize their team's jerseys and court, among other things. The game mode progressed even further on NBA 2K19, with a MyTeam tournament between the best Xbox and PS4 players for a prize of $250,000 occurring. Other online-focused modes have also been featured in the series, such as Pro-Am, which focuses on players building a team together with their custom players.Good, Owen (September 21, 2012). "NBA 2K13s MyTeam Means All Team Sports Have an 'Ultimate Team' Mode Now". Kotaku. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Marchiafava, Jeff (November 1, 2013). "NBA 2K14 – New My Team Features Announced For Next-Gen". Game Informer. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Phipps, Brett (August 6, 2015). "NBA 2K16 to introduce new Dynamic Cards in MyTeam". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Pereira, Chris (July 30, 2015). "NBA 2K16 Lets You Fully Design a Team, Go Online for 5-on-5 Matches". GameSpot. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Sarkar, Samit (July 31, 2015). "NBA 2K16s new 2K Pro-Am mode brings custom team games online". Polygon. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
In addition to regulation NBA, street basketball has been featured in numerous games in the series. Created players and real players can be used in such modes; additionally, some celebrities have made appearances as playable characters in the series.Thomas, Aaron (September 26, 2006). "NBA 2K7 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved January 9, 2017. In more recent games, the street basketball modes are titled Blacktop and MyPark. Blacktop is structured in the typical style of street basketball. MyPark consists of an open area filled with players who can join different games on different courts.Liebl, Matt (October 1, 2014). "The Park returns in NBA 2K15 as MyPARK". GameZone. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Sarkar, Samit (October 1, 2014). "Prove yourself online in NBA 2K15s redesigned street basketball mode, MyPark". Polygon. Retrieved January 9, 2017. Several games in the series feature a mode which allows the player to hold a slam dunk contest.
Several games in the series have featured game modes that are exclusive to that particular game. NBA 2K11 featured the Jordan Challenge mode, in which players are tasked with recreating some of Michael Jordan's most memorable feats, such as scoring 69 points in a single game.<ref name="Michael Jordan mode 1">Good, Owen (July 22, 2010). The Ten Games of NBA 2K11's "Jordan Challenge" "The Ten Games of NBA 2K11s "Jordan Challenge""]. Kotaku. Retrieved January 9, 2017.</ref>Good, Owen (November 3, 2011). "Jordan Gets His Own Career Mode In NBA 2K11". Kotaku. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Yin-Poole, Wesley (July 22, 2010). "Michael Jordan Mode for NBA 2K11". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 9, 2017. NBA 2K12 featured the NBA's Greatest mode, where the player can play with past NBA players, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, and Bill Russell.Good, Owen (August 18, 2011). "NBA 2K12 Delivers Much More than 15 Legends in an Ensemble Cast of Greatness". Kotaku. Retrieved January 9, 2017.Ruscher, Wesley (August 24, 2011). "Going old-school with the NBA's Greatest node in NBA 2K12". Destructoid. Retrieved January 9, 2017. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows versions of NBA 2K14 featured a mode titled Path to Greatness; similar to the Jordan Challenge mode, it focuses on the career of LeBron James.Sarkar, Samit (September 13, 2013). "Choose LeBron's future in NBA 2K14s Path to Greatness mode". Polygon. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
Games
All twenty-four of the series main installments have been developed by Visual Concepts. The first six games were published by Sega Sports, before the company sold Visual Concepts to Take Two Interactive, thus forming 2K Sports.
1990s NBA 2K
The original NBA 2K game was initially released in November 1999 for the Dreamcast, featuring Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers as the cover athlete. The first four games in the NBA 2K series feature commentary from fictional announcers Bob Steele and Rod West, portrayed by Bob Fitzgerald and Rod Brooks, respectively.
2000s
NBA 2K1
NBA 2K1 was initially released in October 2000 for the Dreamcast. Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers returns as the cover athlete. NBA 2K1, among other things, introduces a mode which focuses on street basketball, and a mode which allows the player to act as the general manager of a team; most of the game's successors feature variations of the two modes. This was also the first game in the series to allow for online play, allowing for 8 people to play together online.NBA 2K1. IGN. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
NBA 2K2
NBA 2K2 was released in late 2001 and early 2002 for Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Allen Iverson again returned as the cover athlete. In addition to the regular players and teams from the 2001–02 NBA season, NBA 2K2 features several past players and their respective teams, including Bill Russell, Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. NBA 2K2 is the first game in the series to be released for multiple platforms, and the last to be released for Dreamcast.
NBA 2K3
NBA 2K3 was initially released in October 2002 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. It is the second and final time of the game in the series to be released for the GameCube. Allen Iverson of the 76ers made his fourth appearance as the cover athlete.David, Kushner (July 25, 2002). "Sports Fantasy Is Catching Up With Reality". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2017.NBA 2K3. IGN. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
ESPN NBA Basketball (NBA 2K4)
ESPN NBA Basketball was released in October and November 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. Allen Iverson made his fifth and final appearance as the cover athlete. The game introduces a 24/7 mode, a career mode in which the player can create a customizable character and use them to compete in basketball tournaments and other competitions. Online game modes are also present, and each player has a unique facial design, also a first. The game features a commentary team consisting of Bob Fitzgerald and Tom Tolbert; Kevin Frazier hosts pre-game shows. It is the only game in the series to not feature "2K" in the title.
ESPN NBA 2K5
ESPN NBA 2K5 was first released in September 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the last game in the series to be published by Sega Sports before the company sold Visual Concepts to Take Two Interactive, forming 2K Sports. Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons replaced Iverson as the cover athlete. It is the third and final in the series to feature ESPN branding. The game features Stuart Scott as a presenter, Bob Fitzgerald as a play-by-play commentator, Bill Walton as a second commentator, Michele Tafoya as a sideline reporter.espn nba-2k5-first-impression/1100-6107274/ "ESPN NBA 2k5 First Impression" (September 14, 2004). GameSpot. Retrieved January 4, 2017."ESPN NBA 2K5: The Preview" (September 14, 2004). IGN. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
NBA 2K6