Posted in: 2K Games, Games, NBA, NBA 2K, Video Games | Tagged: NBA 2K26

Stepping Up Our Game: We Got To Preview NBA 2K26

We got a chance to have a very special preview session of NBA 2K26 in San Francisco, trying out many of the new options in the game

Every year, 2K Games rolls out a new edition of NBA 2K. Sometimes they nail it, other times they don't, and sometimes they go in both directions at the same time with different aspects simultaniously. The team really tries to go above and beyond to make each edition better than the last, but sometimes, you'll just never know until you're on the couch picking your favorite team and hit the court. We were among a selection of journalists and content creators who were invited out for a special 2K Community Day event in San Francisco to try out the latest incarnation of the franchise, NBA 2K26. After getting some real playing time with the game, here's our thoughts on what we experienced.

So right out the gate, the company has been bragging about the graphics and the way the game plays compared to NBA 2K25. No smoke, this is a great improvement compared to last year's title, as the visuals feel more refined around the players you recognize from the league, as well as some of the more generic players you'll see. Even making your own player has been refined so that it feels like you're playing as a real person and not just an avatar of a person. They also went into painstaking detail of how many of the courts around the NBA look and feel, right down to the wood design you see on the court under all those sponsorship logos. Not to mentiont audio and noises you hear while playing a game, as you get the full effect of being in the arena, or even if you're watching it on TV with the color commentators in your ear. I would say this has been one of the best looking presentations in the seires since in started.

When it comes to the gameplay, there are somenew features in NBA 2K26 that will challenge you and make things feel a little more fair and realistic. Some of the big changes to talk about may feel minor, but they change the game up in a big way. First off, dribbling has been given what I can only describe as a technical overhaul. Every player has their own dribble moveset, so to speak. As in there is no singiular way everyone dribbles down the court, which means you can't just time a steal like you used to. You now have to figure out pattern recognition, which makesit harder to steal and be stolen from, so there's a better chance that when you have the ball, you have real control over what happens until you shoot.

The game has also given a boost to mid-range shots, as well as moving shots. You have a better chance of making them if the choice that you make is sound. If you're just tossing the ball down the court to whoever is free and immediately taking a shot, it isn't going to do much of anything. If you time your shot or find a better circumstance where a player in motion can find their window, you'll nail a play with ease. You'll also see more contesting from your opponents, as they're not just going to hand you a free shot, even when no one is guarding you right away. As far as shooting in general goes, getting your shot off in the green can become a challenge at first, but once you get the hang of each player and what their range is, you'll become unstoppable. There is a learning curve for every team, no doubt. But finding a rhythm in everyone you play with will be the key.

The new rhythm shooting mechanic was something else, as it also gave you a chance to find your flow and become a better player as time went on. Even if you don't find yourself in the green on the shot, if you find your timing in the tempo of the rhythm, it will go in. Finally, and I say this in the nicest way possible, layups are trash this time around. You need to find your footing perfectly, or it will doink itself right out of the bucket, even if you alley-oop it.

Speaking of dealing with opponents, the CPU has been given a boost in being competitive. NBA 2K25 had more of what I refer to as "defeatist syndrome" when it came to the late game, where if you weren't up by 20 points by the third quarter, you basically had little to no shot of coming back. In NBA 2K26, there's a much better chance of you being evenly matched and coming out on top if you stick to your guns. The game also offers up what I would call a competitive edge in the late game, depending on who you're playing as.

An example of this is when I played as Golden State, I took Steph Curry to the three-point line all around the court, but could barely hit anything in the first half. When the fourth quarter came around, I could suddenly hit shots I was missing in the first half, because now the game seems to put you more into a crunch time mode where everyone shines, including you. So the game actively wants every matchup to be competitive down to the buzzer. Unless you're just dominant as hell, and then at that point you'll just have to kick back and enjoy the animation of watching fans of the other team leave the game early to beat the traffic. The CPU also makes sure you are given a challenge regardless of the team. I played against the Utah Jazz, last season's worst team, with no player having a rating above 90. They gave me a run for my money in two diffrent games with what they had.

Part of the demo was also spent checking out MyTeam and player creation, which we admittedly did not spend a ton of time on as we were more invested in checking out the main gameplay. Making your own player has never been easier, as you can basically make them look almost however you want, but as usual, you only have so many stats you can increase to make them either balanced or heavily talented in a few key areas when starting out. And making a new player will be a bigger uphill battle than before as they've already teased in other trailers that you won't be going into the NBA, you'll be a player who didn't get drafted and will now have to show all your peers they made a mistake. I'm looking forward to seeing how you rise to the occasion, which you will do in The City for some interactive content, as well as in the story as you'll bounce around to different unique courts before making the big time.

We also had a brief chance to play with other players, hence the Community Day aspect of it all, and we got to have some fun experiences. Playing 5-v-5 is a trip and it makes getting together with your friends so much more of an experience when you're all working toward the same goal together. And this is where you'll truly find out if you're a gamer who can work with others, or if you're a solo player who thinks they're the next LeBron. Oftentimes, the people trying to be LeBron make the LeWrong moves and end up hurting the team all the time, whereas those who can talk to each other and communicate well on the court can fake out opponents pretty well. If you're looking for that kind of teamwork experience, this game has you covered in one of the most fluid basketball experiences I've played in a while.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this build, even though it was just a demo and not the final version. They have clearly gone the extra mile to make improvements in as many areas as possible, and also make things challeging. But the real proof in what's been done right and wrong will come out when NBA 2K26 is released on September 5, 2025.

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