Death, taxes, and annual 2K sports title releases – the three inescapable pillars of human existence. As somebody considerably more familiar with developer Visual Concept’s WWE offerings, stepping onto the courts of NBA 2K26 was quite the refreshing experience. And while there are certainly some much welcomed changes and improvements here over last year’s entry, if you’re at all familiar with the way 2K handles their sports titles, you’ll know that most of the time they aren’t exactly outright revolutionary with their additions. Having said that, though, the overall product here is still quite enjoyable – particularly when it comes to the satisfyingly easy-to-pick-up core gameplay mechanics (on the surface level, at least) and sheer amount of available content to mess around with.



While NBA 2K26 has plenty of modes for you to dive straight into right off the bat, I feel it’s important to first highlight the excellent built-in tutorial section found under the “Learn 2K” tab – offering newcomers to the game a great way to come to grips with the controls and general feel of the players mid-match, through different tiers of complexity. Making passes, taking shots, and nailing defense and blocks are all explained perfectly clearly – and, most importantly, feel satisfyingly responsive with solid performance pretty much across the board (now with noticeably improved player animations).



As far as the absolute basics go, both swapping between active teammates and making standard passes are mapped to the X button (on PS5), with the direction of the left stick determining your target. Overhead and bounce passes, on the other hand, are accomplished by hitting the triangle or circle button, respectively – with defensive manoeuvres primarily utilising the trigger buttons. Beyond the fundamentals, the Learn 2K tab boasts other interesting diversions, including hosting clips showing off various techniques and minigames all centred around self-improvement.

The overall product here is still quite enjoyable – particularly when it comes to the satisfyingly easy-to-pick-up core gameplay mechanics.

MyCAREER is what NBA 2K26 initially pushes you toward, however, allowing you to create your own character from scratch (including the option of scanning in your own face) or by taking advantage of the provided build presets before jumping into the story (branded “Out of Bounds”). Your avatar’s journey of rising from humble beginnings to the major leagues is full of the content, systems and functionality typical of a 2K sports title – cinematic cutscenes (with mixed animation quality and melodramatic but enjoyable scenarios), attribute enhancement using the ever-present VC currency, equipping tiered powerups or GOAT Skills (these activate once specific actions are performed during a match), and missions paying out rewards based on performance.



Quick side note before we move on here. Yes, VC is still very much here to stay, showing up in tantalisingly colourful fashion at various points throughout the game (although nowhere near as aggressively as I was expecting). Scrolling through the DLC page on the PlayStation Store, however, is an exercise in pure monetary horror, with VC bundles ranging from R39 for 5000 VC to R2,599 for 700,000 VC (!!). Absolute insanity.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled review. Outside of story events, players can explore The City – a returning shared area or hub zone (similar to WWE 2K25’s The Island mode, but significantly more sterile in appearance) featuring brand name apparel stores, multiplayer (up to 50 players in a Crew, which has its own list of rewards and associated unlockable branding) and single-player activities, leaderboards containing top player scores/names, and one of the most strangely limited third-person cameras I’ve ever seen. The size of the explorable area has also been toned down from prior iterations, making moving from one point of interest to another less of an annoyance.



Despite The City’s appearance, there’s actually quite a bit to do here, if you’re so inclined – but the onboarding experience and overall approach to explanations do leave a lot to be desired, particularly for fresh faces such as myself. Also, crossplay is indeed included, but is seemingly limited to console platforms – leaving PC players out of the equation for some reason. My guess is its probably tied to some performance-related “level playing field” philosophy on Visual Concept’s part.

Yes, VC is still very much here to stay, showing up in tantalisingly colourful fashion at various points throughout the game.

Another returning element, the Park, located at the heart of The City, is a seasonally-rotating location packed with courts – where taking on the current Park MVP and breaking (or setting) player streaks is the name of the game, earning you REP and VC reward bonuses for your trouble. Elsewhere, the shiny new Street Kings mode sees you take on powerful AI-controlled bosses that can then be recruited to your team upon defeat.



If you’re more into managing the game than exclusively participating in it, NBA 2K26 has got you covered, too. MyNBA, its lite variant, and the MyGM modes are, quite frankly, extremely intimidating for a basketball novice to sink their teeth into – and if I had more experience with the sport under my belt, I would likely be spending most of my time here. Simulating entire NBA seasons scratches that management sim itch of mine and having the option to alternate between making tactical switch-ups and dropping back down to the on-court gameplay gives you the best of both worlds.

Of course, you could always hop into the standard quick play mode for some instant matchups, whether you’re jumping in solo or with some buddies online. Adding some spice to the mix with the Eras selection, allowing you to pick lineups from major NBA time periods in history (stretching back to the ‘80s Magic vs Bird era, and stopping at the 2016 Steph Era, period-accurate screen filters included for added authenticity) is a nice touch, as well.



While you’re going about your business, regardless of preferred mode, your ears are constantly graced by NBA 2K26’s fantastic, and surprisingly deep, set of licensed music tracks. Whether you’re in the mood for some classic Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop action, Justice’s electronic beats, or even Blur’s universally recognisable “Song 2”, you’re in for a toe-tappingly good time (minus the frequent censorship to maintain that E for Everybody rating). Hell, I even had the song player up and running in the background while typing this very sentence.

NBA 2K26 is quite the meaty package, with a few areas of improvement and plenty of opportunities for customisation and experimentation (many of which I couldn’t cram into this review) – even if the step up from 2K25 might not be as earth-shakingly revolutionary as many would have hoped it would be. With an interesting enough storyline, updated player animations, and an overall streamlined City experience throwing more sprinkles on the cake, at the end of the day, the ball is in your court as to whether picking up 2K26 is the right move for you – if the usual mix of already available content and small list of changes makes the cut.

PS5 Review code provided by 2K Games | NBA 2K26 is available now for R1,399