In this NBA 2K27 review, we look at Visual Concept's latest entry in the series. NBA 2K27 features tons of new ways to play, many new gameplay features and improvements, and more. MyTEAM, MyNBA, MyGM, and The W also received some love too. But do these improvements make the game worth your time and money? Let's find out.
NBA 2K27 Review â What is NBA 2K27?
NBA 2K27 is the latest entry in the NBA 2K series, which is developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. The newest entry in the series features many returning modes, such as MyCAREER, MyNBA/MyGM, MyTEAM, and more. Furthermore, the game features multiple historic NBA teams, as well as every WNBA team for the 2026-2027 season.
San Antonio Spurs' C Victor Wembanyama graces the game's standard edition cover. Indiana Fever PG Caitlin Clark is the game's deluxe edition cover athlete. Lastly, Derrick Rose appears on the game's Ultra Edition cover.
The game is available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Gameplay â NBA 2K27 Review
At its core, NBA 2K27 offers a gameplay experience that many fans of the series are familiar with, but with five main enhancements to the overall structure:
- Advanced Controls
- Rhythm Shooting
- Physical Defense
- Takeover Improvements
- AI & Coaching Improvements
My favorite feature in 2K27 is the revamped takeover system. The five discipline system makes it possible to have multiple takeover abilities activate in one game, and it's a blast to rock with. Furthermore, it encourages players to try and create new play styles. With 24 Takeovers split across the different disciplines, there's a solid amount of combinations you can choose from.
In terms of Advanced Controls, I like the increased variety of options players have in their toolset to make plays. While I didn't use the No-Look Passing feature often, I did like using signature breakdown moves. Furthermore, I appreciate the streamlined Alley-Oop controls, which makes them easier to perform. I feel like I make much more use of Alley-Oops now, thanks to the simplified control scheme.
Rhythm Shooting also returns to NBA 2K27, now featuring a real-time visual marker that moves with your Pro Stick movement. I'm glad that you actually need to nail the green timing in order to successfully make shots. In 2K26, once people got the hang of rhythm shooting, it became way too easy to make shots all the time. It makes shooting more challenging, but not overly complicated or difficult.
But what really received a lot of love this year was defense. I feel like I had more control over contesting shots thanks to the simple control scheme. You can either hold up on the Pro Stick for more aggressive shot contesting. Or, if you hold down, you'll take a more conservative approach, but your chances of getting fouled are much less.
The defensive cutoff mechanic also received some upgrades, essentially giving you more options for how you want to defend against your opponent. There are also a new collision system, though to be honest I really didn't feel its impact too much.
What I did feel, though, was the new skill-based ankle breaker system. As the name suggests, the game calculates a player's momentum in determining if they can avoid getting their ankles broken. It helps separate the best defensive players from bench players and rookies. I definitely noticed that higher-rated players with better defensive ratings had an easier time staying glued to offensive players.
Overall, NBA 2K27's gameplay feels great. It's a blend of the classic NBA 2K gameplay experience mixed in with features that actually impact the gameplay. On the surface, it may not feel like a lot has changed, but that's because you shouldn't fix what isn't broken. Instead, the developers essentially streamlined a lot of mechanics, welcoming more users to try and experiment.
What I love most above all, is the amount of control offered in the game. There are so many ways to shoot, block, dribble, make moves, pass, set up screens, and more that the player really feels in control of their experience. Just like the wide variety of modes, 2K27 also gives you a wide variety of ways to play.
In the end, NBA 2K27 still offers one of the best gameplay experiences for sports games today. The controls feel great, movement feels fluid, and the new features improve many features without compromising the fun and simplicity of its overall structure.
MyCAREER & The CITY â NBA 2K27 Review
MyCAREER received a lot of love this year, giving players more ways to experience it than ever before.
Firstly, the devs added Eras to MyCAREER, letting you create MyPLAYER and using them in any of the game's six Eras. So if you really wanted a MyCAREER experience that begins in the Magic vs. Bird Era, you're more than welcome to.
The great thing about this feature is that it manages to stay true to history in many ways. I'm not just talking about locker room designs and the overall presentation, but the rosters and lineups as well. If you play during the Jordan Era, you'll see the Bulls' roster accurately update throughout the course of your career. If you play long enough, you'll find yourself playing against legends like Dennis Rodman and more.
Eras in MyCAREER is a great way to expand the mode, offering seamlessly endless ways to play. In previous years, you had to add your MyPLAYER to MyNBA, which was fine. But now, you can just insert your player into any Era and solely focus on them.
Of course, the main MyCAREER experience is the Modern Era, where you undergo the âÂÂFire & Concreteâ narrative experience. Like Out of Bounds (2K26) and Heart of a Dynasty (2K25), this story follows MP's career before he heads to the NBA.
Fire & Concrete's story focuses on an up-and-coming MP whose career is nearly derailed by a car accident, which leaves our protagonist injured. Fortunately for him, he's given a second chance after fighting his way to the G-League. Like previous years, how well you play determines your draft ranking when you do make it.
Overall, the level structure and flow of Fire and Concrete is pretty similar to previous stories. You can earn up to three-stars depending on if you complete the optional objectives in the game.
But first, I do want to say that this year's story felt a bit weak in my opinion. This year's MP (your MyPLAYER) is a promising young player who's future aspirations of being an NBA player are nearly ruined by getting into a car accident. Honestly, I wasn't crazy for this storyline.
It'd be one thing if the accident wasn't MP's fault, but his reckless driving nearly cost him his life, never mind his career. I find it hard to sympathize with the character. And I know it's a game, but that kind of reckless driving has caused innocent people to lose their lives in real life.
The voice actor for MP also just sounds really depressed all the time. I understand his situation sucks, but you think someone would be more grateful that they were able to make a full recovery and earn a second chance. Personally, I think it would have been simpler to just have MP get injured during a big game while a high-profile scout was watching.
Furthermore, I also didn't like Cam, MP's cousin, who is played by Vince Staples. When MP gets an opportunity to turn things around, all Cam can think about is how the water bill isn't going to be as high as before. He does support MP, but that support feels shallow and Cam's behavior feels petty at times.
At least the story gets a bit better once you enter the G-League, which is where the story starts to feel like a classic MyCAREER narrative. You'll bond with teammates and make new enemies, some of whom you may see later on in your NBA career. I personally liked the chemistry between Jalen Beech and MP, and there is a twist that happens later on which adds a nice dramatic element to the story.
However, I think the structure of Fire & Concrete's level design needs some work. For some of the games, I not only had to focus on my teammate grade, but also Jalen's. Trying to get an A+ for yourself isn't too hard, but helping your teammate get a good grade felt frustrating at times. I had to use cheese strategies just to get Jalen's grade as high as I could.
This made some of the matches boring. I constantly found myself using the same two or three strategies in order to complete the three-star objective. This made a good chunk of Fire & Concrete feel like a chore.
Fortunately, once you enter the NBA, it's back to the classic MyCAREER formula. You'll still have key games and narrative moments, but the focus is solely on you as a player. And from that point on, I feel like I was able to enjoy the experience a bit more.
Now, you could just skip the first five chapters of Fire and Concrete, but you'd be missing out on earning extra VC, rewards, and more. So while you're not forced to play all of it, you should definitely try, especially if you don't like spending money on VC. You can also skip all of the cutscenes if you just want to play the game.
Overall, I still enjoy MyCAREER. The addition of Eras was a great idea, and the main experience itself is still a ton of fun. However, Fire & Concrete just wasn't for me, and I wasn't as crazy for some of the cast.
But all that aside, Fire & Concrete is just one small part of the MyCAREER experience. I still very much enjoyed playing through my actual career thanks to 2K27's fun gameplay.
As
MyNBA â NBA 2K27 Review
MyNBA, the game's Franchise mode, offers a few welcome additions this year.
Firstly, the developers added over 20 improvements that were requested by the community. This includes things like:
- Expanded trade negotiations
- The ability to prevent historic changes (i.e. expansion teams)
- Ability to customize playoff series structure for home and away games
- 75 Historical Courts
- The ability to negotiate buyout contracts with veterans on expiring deals
- & much more
The developers also revamped the Free Agency with a moratorium period to pitch to superstar players. Overall, this adds another layer of challenge to the experience of roster-building. You need to work harder to convince your star players to stay. Whether it's making lifetime promises, or agreeing to sign someone they want, FA feels a lot more dynamic.
Speaking of Dynamic, MyNBA also features Dynamic Duos, which essentially let two players with good chemistry gain even more attribute bonuses. If your PG and C develop a good relationship, both players, and in turn, your team benefits from it. These things can help also boost your team's morale.
Conversely, sometimes player personalities may cause them to clash, which can cause division in the locker room. But they can also create exciting matchups when players on separate teams have a grudge against each other.
MyNBA also adds a new system called MyNBA Legacy. This essentially allows you to take your favorite player and make them even better than before. Over time, you can develop a player to have only legend badges if you can reach Tier 30 (Eternal G.O.A.T.) The coolest part is that you continue their legacy by playing as their son in the future.
And I doubt anyone will do it, but NBA 2K27 lets you play Franchise for 100 years. I don't know if anyone's going to play 8,200+ games, but if they do, they deserve a medal.
Overall, there's a lot going on with MyNBA this year, which would require its own separate review just to cover everything. So it's safe to say I was very impressed with what the developers added, even if I haven't been able to experience everything yet.
MyTEAM â NBA 2K27 Review
Article Continues BelowMyTEAM received a lot of love this year, bringing features like a Unified Auction House, a player XP system, and more. Those two features in particular felt like some of the biggest additions to this year's title.
Now, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 players all share one unified auction house. This increased player pool makes it easier to sell the cards you want, and buy the cards you need.
Additionally, there's an all-new play-tab this year, with the developers set to rotate modes throughout the season. Obviously, the game just came out, so this can go one of two ways. Either the rotation is great, or it won't. But given the developer's track record, I think it's safe to assume we'll have a lot of unique content throughout the season.
2K27 also features an all-new XP system for players, which is honestly the best feature they added this year. Essentially, it allows you to get the most out of your player items by leveling them up over time, which provides a variety of bonuses.
Leveling up a player can increase their attributes, help them unlock Takeover abilities right away, or earn them a new badge slot. And if you sell that card, you don't lose your progression. So if you earn that player again, you keep all those bonuses you earned for them.
MyTEAM also adds new Gem Tiers, and Player Card Parallels. They also expanded upon the Breakout mode with a new progression system and letting you use player cards more than once, thanks to the pre-selected lineups.
But to be honest, despite all of these changes, I'm still not a MyTEAM guy. And this goes for every sports game I play, whether it's NBA 2K or WWE 2K. I just never really cared for the idea of collecting cards. Plus, the microtransactions of MyTEAM make it almost impossible to earn every card for free.
The good thing is that NBA 2K27 features a lot of modes, and having a mode like MyTEAM does help create variety.
The W & MyWNBA â NBA 2K27 Review
The W returns this year, and once again, there is not too much going on. The new team and teammate badges are interesting, but that really isn't enough to pull me into the mode.
There's also MyWNBA, which is MyNBA but with WNBA teams. Again, I personally was never into the mode, but I do appreciate the developers adding in a Franchise mode. It's just one more thing offered in a package full of content.
But besides that, not much else going on. The mode feels pretty untouched this year, as it has been since its inception. Last year, they added a pre-draft interview, press conferences, and GOAT Challenges. This year, we got MyWNBA. Overall, these feel like pretty small additions compared to what the other modes got.
In the end, I think the W still needs more significant updates. We may still be a long way before the mode finally feels on par with the rest of the game.
Graphics â NBA 2K27 Review
In terms of graphics, NBA 2K27 looks pretty similar to previous installments. But thanks to ProPLAY technology, player movements on the court help the game look authentic and realistic.
I mentioned it earlier, but I also like 2K's attention to detail, especially with all of the Eras you can play in. Seeing different locker rooms and stadiums in MyCAREER, as well as seeing the changes with each new Era in MyNBA helps elevate the authenticity.
No other sports game has this attention to detail and brings everything together all at once. Playing as classic teams, playing in classic stadiums, playing with hundreds with different uniform combinations (probably more) all helps 2K27 feel close to the real game.
What does help NBA 2K27 is its improved presentation across its various modes.
Audio â NBA 2K27 Review
Perhaps my favorite thing about NBA 2K27's audio is the fully voiced cutscenes across the various modes. In MyCAREER, you'll actually hear the voices of characters around you. And having real NBA players actually voice some lines also helps heighten the authenticity. I mentioned this in last year's review, and it still holds true to this day. It was also surprising to hear Vince Staples, who voices your cousin, Cam, in MyCAREER.
NBA 2K27 also has a solid soundtrack, featuring a decent variety of songs to listen to in between games. For the most part, the soundtrack mostly consists of Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B, and electronic/dance. If you've played the series long enough, you've pretty much come to expect what to hear when booting up the game.
And of course, all the sounds on the court are as authentic as they can get. From the PA Announcers, to the crowd, to the stadium music, to the actual sounds of the game, everything sounds exactly as it should be.
Overall, NBA 2K27 more than delivers when it comes to audio.
Verdict â Is NBA 2K27 Worth Your Time & Money?
Overall, while I think NBA 2K27 is another solid entry that longtime fans of the series will enjoy. While it's perhaps not the strongest addition to the series in recent years, I still very much enjoyed my time with the game. I like the new MyCAREER Eras and some of the new gameplay improvements, but I don't feel like there was a massive leap this year in terms of upgrades.
While I still like MyCAREER, I wasn't feeling Fire & Concrete's narrative. While I like some of the new improvements to MyTEAM, I've never been a big fan of the mode. MyNBA and the W, for the most part, also didn't come with enough upgrades to make them feel substantially better for the most part.
But that doesn't mean I don't like the game. The gameplay is still just as fun as ever, MyCAREER is still the best player-career mode out there, and the variety of modes offers something for everyone. I also love the presentation, as well as attention to detail for teams, players, uniforms, locker rooms, and much more.
I just think this particular entry didn't do anything to really âÂÂwowâ me. But that doesn't mean they didn't try. There's a lot of new features and improvements they managed to pack in the game with just one year of development time. So I still respect the effort the developers put in.
Overall, if you love NBA 2K, you'll still enjoy what's offered here. And while I don't find 2K27 particularly revolutionary, it's still a fun sports game to play with friends or on your own. I still have good feelings about the series and look forward to seeing what other things the developer may add this year.
If you do decide to pick up 2K27, we hope you enjoy your experience, and we'll see you on the court!
Score: 8.5/10
EditorâÂÂs Note: ClutchPoints received a PS5 review copy to allow us to cover this game. These copies did not, in any way, affect this NBA 2K27 ReviewâÂÂs final score and verdict.