When NBA 2K23 launches this fall, it will almost certainly be the best-selling basketball game of the year, as it always is. NBA 2K has been the name-brand NBA franchise for a decade, and will likely continue to be going forward. However, recently many 2K players have pointed out that the franchise has stagnated. As time goes on, the yearly releases feel less like new games and more like a slightly polished edition of the previous one. The game modes are fun, but the actual basketball could use some significant improvements.
One easy solution is to fix the issues plaguing the series for the last few years. The 2K franchise has made offense feel fairly comparable to real NBA games, but the defense still has a long way to go. If 2K wants to avoid becoming obsolete like NBA Live before it, NBA 2K23 needs to make a few changes immediately.
Fix Blocks
Blocks are the first and most pressing issue for NBA 2K. They are the most exciting part of NBA defense, and the franchise has yet to capture that thrill. In the NBA, players typically get blocks through great team and man-to-man defense, resulting in a player having to take a shot they shouldn’t. In 2K, the only type of block users can consistently deliver is a chase-down block, which, while exciting, is not emblematic of how it works in the NBA. Even the players with the best NBA 2K ratings find their characters don’t live up to their defensive reputations. Players should also get blocked more often for making poor offensive decisions. If blocks are improved, the quality of play will drastically increase, with players being discouraged from simply spamming the dunk or layup button as they drive.
Remove Speed Boosts
For those unfamiliar, speed boosts are arbitrary enhancements on the best NBA 2K dribble animations that allow players with high ball handling ratings to move faster than others. It’s one thing if a player like Kyrie Irving is quicker than his peers, but in the increasingly cutthroat MyPlayer mode, speed boosts have given certain player builds unfair competitive advantages. In theory, each build should have advantages over others, but speed boosts have made smaller, quicker players nearly unstoppable once they have a high enough rating.
Related to speed boosts are shot animations. In the past, 2K has given shots the game deems “open” or “wide open” a huge boost over contested shots. Players have found ways to give their MyPlayer builds an edge by selecting shot animations that are faster than others, meaning if there isn’t a defender right in their face, the offense can quickly get an "open" shot off without the defensive penalty. NBA 2K23 needs to either remove animation advantages or lessen their impact on the gameplay.
Improve Defensive Controls
Anyone who has played competitive basketball knows that 2K defense is nothing like real life. In 2K, if the defender is standing close to the offense, the game views that as playing defense. How well users play defense has very little to do with the input on the controls, and more with the players’ defensive ratings, creating a microtransaction incentive for players who want to buy their way to good defense. NBA 2K’s defensive badge system offsets that slightly, but the issue remains. Rather than just making defense a proximity and money game, NBA 2K23 needs to include advanced defensive controls that require more skillful play.
Make Rebounding A Skill
Similar to the defensive controls, or the lack thereof, the 2K's rebounding could use some significant improvements. Currently, all that matters to grab a board is the player’s rebound ratings, so much so that positioning and reaction to the ball hardly has any effect at all. Rebounding is a skill as much as anything else in the game, and NBA 2K23 has the chance to finally make improvements that fans have been wanting for years.
NBA 2K23 releases September 9, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.