Monday Tip-Off: What It Would Take To Play Online Again
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with a few thoughts on what it would take to get me to play online again.
From NBA 2K16 through to NBA 2K20, I was invested in playing the connected experiences in MyCAREER. I wasn’t exclusively an online gamer of course, as I got great enjoyment out of playing the NBA side of MyCAREER too, including making it to the Hall of Fame in NBA 2K19. However, one of the reasons that I kept returning to the mode every year was to level up a MyPLAYER so that I could join the rest of NLSC THRILLHO for some online games. As the grind became more of a chore and the rest of the crew’s enthusiasm waned, I too lost interest in MyCAREER.
Long gone are the days when I’d consider jumping into The Rec every night of the week, just to see what it was like! Indeed, outside of playing through the story in NBA 2K21 and occasionally jumping online, and a very brief return in NBA 2K23, I’ve stuck to the offline MyCAREER experience in NBA 2K14. Of course, it’s not just disinterest in the online scene that’s turned me off MyCAREER in recent years. From gameplay gripes to frustration with grinding and quests, I’m weary of the NBA side of the mode as well. Considering my willingness to change up my basketball gaming habits though, as we enter 2025, could anything persuade me to play online again?
I could be glib here and say no, nothing would, but that wouldn’t make for much of an article! It also wouldn’t be entirely true. While I’m not actively planning on or hoping to play NBA 2K online again, I’d never close that door entirely. I know how fun it can be when everything goes well, and there are certain circumstances where I’d likely at least consider it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to what you most enjoy, but whether it’s an array of modes in the latest NBA 2K, or retro gaming, it’s good to have choices and a chance to mix things up. It’s one of the reasons I keenly accepted Kenny’s invitation to check out 2K Pro-Am in NBA 2K16 back in 2016.
I’ll reiterate though that returning to the online scene isn’t a priority for me. It would take some very specific (and highly unlikely) changes to be made. For one, there can’t be a choice between a massive, tedious grind, and an expensive VC purchase to skip it, just to have a MyPLAYER that’s viable for online play. I don’t dislike the NBA side of MyCAREER – obviously, given my ongoing playthrough of NBA 2K14’s mode – but it’s tiresome to start over as a 60 Overall rookie every year. At this point, I also refuse to pay any extra just to ensure that my avatar is enjoyable to play with. It’s the grind that I’m burned out on, not the general concept of MyCAREER gameplay.
As I’ve discussed in a previous article, the only reason to have us start out with such low ratings at this juncture is greed. Although high ratings are necessary, the key difference makers in MyCAREER and its connected modes are Badges. If we started out at around 75 Overall with sufficient athletic ratings – as you would expect of a young player in their physical prime – and adequate abilities, and spent the early part of MyCAREER levelling up to the early 80s and gaining a few Badges, online play would be far more palatable. Simply put, if paying not to play the game is actually preferable, then it’s admitting that the experience is designed to be unenjoyable!
The MyPLAYER build system and its various augmentations, from Badges to boosts from consumables, is obviously part of that design. Look, I get that many people do like meta-gaming and min-maxing, but I don’t find any joy in it; especially when the meta can change through patches, we can’t re-spec, and it isn’t clear if a build will be fun and viable until we’ve already committed far too much time, energy, and possibly even money to it. For all the bleating about stick skills, the smug suggestions to “get good”, and other elitist rhetoric, the artificial boosts, paid upgrades, and quirks with MyPLAYER builds, undermine both competitive integrity and quality of gameplay.
Once again though, it makes money, so it’s unlikely to change. The same goes for the lack of proper matchmaking. Yes, there are some squad/no squad options now, and some broad matchmaking logic in The Rec based on Overall Ratings, but it’s just not enough. Veterans get stuck with newbies, and vice versa, making it a frustrating time for everyone. People who are just starting to level up a player are thrown in with those who have been on the grind since launch, adding to the pressure to pay for upgrades. The scene is not designed to be welcoming to newcomers (or latecomers), or fairly challenging for the elite gamers. I know I’ve said it before, but fixing this is a must.
Its implementation would definitely make the online scene more appealing to me again. I’ll never claim to be an elite, unbeatable gamer, but I’ve got plenty of online games under my belt, and I’m confident that I can hold my own and play my role effectively. I’d like to face competition on the same level though, and then better opponents as I rank up along with a squad. Besides, it’s not just about me, and it’s not just about the top-ranked players either. Newcomers need to be able to level up and gain experience on the sticks at their own pace, against fair competition. So-called “elites” shouldn’t be able to pad their records by feasting on newbies and randoms.
Even to an experienced gamer, the online scene in NBA 2K is a toxic mess due to its lack of matchmaking, and the elitist attitude it fosters. The Rec is supposed to be a place to play if you don’t have a squad and would like to find people to play with, but it’s filled with trolls and people playing selfishly because they’re grinding for progress. To be blunt, the community isn’t friendly enough for The Rec to function as intended. Thankfully there’s no Badge regression as of NBA 2K25, but the grind is still enough incentive to maintain a Player One mentality. This is antithetical to the team-oriented mindset the scene should promote and reward, and it’s a major reason for the toxicity.
Of course, it might help if I could play with my friends more easily. The main barrier here since NBA 2K19 has been the enforcement of five users per side in team Pro-Am. I understand why they made the change. Online Team Play is meant to be about every player being user-controlled, and AI Players have their own issues. However, until such time as The Rec provides a better standard of play, games where a couple of AI Players fill in is frankly preferable; especially when people are prone to quitting Rec games, leaving AI Players anyway! 3v3 Pro-Am can be enjoyable, but I do miss being able to play 5v5 with proper rules when we only have three people available.
Many of the 500 games that I played in NBA 2K17’s 2K Pro-Am featured three users per side – the old minimum – and it didn’t stand in the way of having fun. It should also be noted that I was playing on the Australasian servers, where the number of users was much lower. This is another area where deeper matchmaking helps, as we could have the option of whether or not to participate in games with AI Players if the old three user minimum was to return. It would cater to everyone, and the only reason to object to that is selfish zero-sum thinking. That kind of flexibility would encourage me – and possibly some of the other NLSC THRILLHO members – to venture online.
Unfortunately, in many ways, NBA 2K online currently works well enough. That means there’s less incentive from a technical standpoint for 2K to make any major changes. The bigger problem of course is that the current approach facilitates pushy recurrent revenue mechanics, and the suits aren’t about to back away from that until such time as it backfires and hurts their bottom line. In the meantime, the online scene isn’t anywhere near as good as it could (and should) be. For me to really consider a return to online play, NBA 2K would need to take some cues from Rocket League. I know I’ve harped on this before, but it succeeds where NBA 2K’s online modes fail.
There’s a clear ranking system that allows you to be matched up with opponents at your skill level. There’s ranked and unranked play, so you’re either competing against gamers you’re on par with, or taking part in a more casual scene; still competitive, but more along the lines of a social league than aspiring eSports players. There is some toxicity – it is online gaming, after all – but it’s a generally friendlier community in my experience, and I’m sure that the robust matchmaking plays a large role in that. New gamers aren’t thrown in at the deep end, and while some tank their ratings to play easier competition, it seems that most people want to level up and prove their mettle.
To recap: for me to seriously consider playing online in NBA 2K again, it mustn’t involve a heavy grind or an expensive pay-to-enjoy approach. There must be proper matchmaking that allows gamers of the same skill level to face each other, preventing experienced and inexperienced gamers from spoiling each other’s fun. Those deeper matchmaking options need to account for different preferences in the 5v5 modes, to make it easier to form a squad and jump online with my friends here in the Oceania region. The overall design needs to prioritise fun and healthy competition, ideally promoting a sense of community and encouraging good sportsmanship on the court.
From a gameplay standpoint, I also need to enjoy the game on the sticks! That’s been a problem in recent years, as I’ve been largely underwhelmed by most of the ninth generation NBA 2K releases. If a concept such as Badge regression returns, I’m also far less inclined to partake in the connected experiences. One of my biggest gripes with MyCAREER through the years is that it’s often felt like it’s more about punishing mistakes and shortcomings than rewarding our success and good play. Losing Badge progress because of the unpredictable nature of an online game exemplifies that harsh approach. The online modes are seemingly more about hard work than having fun.
And, at the end of the day, gaming is about having fun! Yes, the online scene is meant to be competitive, MyCAREER needs to have a journey, and skilful play should be rewarded. That shouldn’t mean you have to treat the mode like a second job, though! Furthermore, a lack of matchmaking and sportsmanship are poison to a competitive scene, as is a build system that negates stick skills. It’s for these reasons that I’m in no hurry to play online any time soon, and I don’t mind that. I know that I’m not alone in my criticisms though, and I’d love for NBA 2K to make a serious effort to improve its online scene. Even if I’m not part of it, I want others to enjoy it in 2025 and beyond.
With that in mind, these changes can’t come until NBA 2K26 at the earliest, so I don’t see myself eagerly jumping online before then. I’m completely fine with that. I often played basketball games solo growing up, so I appreciate the offline franchise and career mode experiences to this day. As I’ve said before, I’ve also been a keen retro gamer from a young age, so I don’t mind sticking to old favourites if that’s what I’m enjoying most. As far as multiplayer is concerned, connecting with Dee over Parsec for co-op sessions of games we enjoy (or oddities we want to revisit) suits me just fine. I don’t need online play to have fun, so if a return isn’t in the cards, so be it.
Like I said though, it’d be nice if it was at least a viable option, not to mention better for people who are still keen on the competitive scene. No, I’m not in a rush to return to online play, and I don’t anticipate NBA 2K making the necessary changes that’d encourage me to strongly consider it. I will at least entertain the possibility though, if only to advocate for what I believe are much-needed improvements. I’ve changed my mind about playing NBA 2K online before, so if the scene does actually improve, I’ll definitely be intrigued. I do have my doubts, though. So, what would it take for me to play online again in 2025? More drastic changes than I realistically expect to see.
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