Review: NBA 2K27 — similar gameplay but with improvements in all the right places

The NBA 2K franchise is one of the biggest sports game series in the world, with 2K26 surpassing 12 million sales. Visual Concepts has released the new version of the game, NBA 2K27, with many new and improved features and game modes. In this review, I will outline my thoughts on the new, good and not-so-good aspects of NBA 2K27. 

What’s new?

Gameplay has changed, including new systems for layups, contesting shots, and takeovers. MyCareer has a new story mode, can now be played with a friend, and the City is now co-ed, with male and female players. The MyPlayer builder has undergone massive changes, along with badge systems and takeovers. MyNBA Legacy has also been added.

Gameplay

There have been a few changes to gameplay in this year’s version of NBA 2K, including a new dynamic layup engine. I am not a big fan of this, as from what I have seen, players have been rewarded too often for taking heavily contested layups. I feel that if you are taking a heavily contested layup, you shouldn’t be making most of them — it should be harder to get a bucket doing that, but it isn’t.

Steals also feel too strong again this year, an issue that was prevalent in last year’s edition. Even if a player has a low steal rating, it is still easy for them to get a steal, which kind of makes the “Steals” rating a bit superfluous.

Shooting has become harder, as the system surrounding rhythm shooting (which was very easy last year) has been revamped. I like this change, as last year, too many players shot over 70% from three, which is obviously very unrealistic.

MyCareer

MyCareer has undergone many changes in NBA 2K27, including the City now being co-ed. If you make your MyPlayer female, you cannot play in the W with that build, which is an interesting addition. The MyCareer storyline in 2K27 has been completely revamped, and it follows your player working their way up from a career-changing injury into the NBA. A revamped badge system has been implemented in the game. 

Now, if you have the overall required for a badge, you can spend points to upgrade it. You earn these points by playing the game. I am a big fan of this new feature as it makes the MyPlayer experience much more customisable in terms of strengths when playing. A new optional hub has been added to the City called Casual Corner, where you can play lower-pressure 3v3 and 5v5 games against beginners. 

This mode is for players who just started and don’t want to play in the Park yet. Co-op MyCareer has been added, and you can invite your friend to your career to take over an AI player on your team. MyCareer Eras is the last major feature added to MyCareer this year, and it lets you take your player back to 5 distinct eras (Magic vs Bird, Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, and Steph Eras) to play against teams from that period. 

MyTeam

Not many changes have been made to MyTeam this year, but the changes that have been made were highly anticipated by players in past editions. The first is a unified cross-platform Auction House, so players can buy cards from other users on any platform. A new simplified Play menu has been added (see below), making it easier for users to get into action. 

A new individual Player XP system has been added to the game mode, which involves levelling up with performance, boosts, and progress and cards can be upgraded and customised more freely this year. Fan-favourite game modes like Triple Threat Online and Clutch Time Online have returned this year as well, at the community’s request. 

MyNBA

A few changes have been made to MyNBA this year, with one of the main ones being the addition of MyNBA Legacy, a single-player mode where you run the front office and play on the court as a player-locked Legend over 100 seasons. Finances and contract negotiations are also more complex, with the second apron, tax penalties, and performance incentives now in the game. 

A new system also tracks friendships and rivalries, which can influence who signs to your team. Other additions include 4-team trades, the ability to add up to 9 assets in a trade, and a contract buyout market.

Conclusion

NBA 2K27 feels quite similar to last year’s addition in terms of gameplay. Improvements have been made to single-player modes such as MyTeam, MyNBA, and MyCareer, but online modes feel very similar, and the gameplay has some minor issues with the new layup system and steals.  It remains to be seen if the game is patched to fix these issues up but it could just be the way it is designed to be and just something I do not prefer.

However, I think that making online modes similar to last year isn’t a bad thing, as 2K26 was already a huge upgrade from the previous edition. Overall, whether you play single-player offline game modes or online against other players, I recommend upgrading to this year’s edition of NBA 2K, 2K27.  

If you are concerned about gameplay issues, keep an eye out for patches and updates that will make the game more enjoyable. If you are still deciding whether to buy NBA 2K27, I highly recommend checking out all its new features in detail here.