The narrative modes of sports video games have traditionally followed a formulaic pattern. They are not disrespectful in any manner, but the journey must always revolve around playing the sport in some way, which severely limits the possibility of storytelling. In MyCareer, you play the role of 'MP,' an up-and-coming franchise player who may be drafted by any team you choose. However, the player does not receive a warm welcome, as seen by the fact that he is heckled while posing for pictures with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Therefore, the scenario is set for a story about winning over an audience, defeating your competitor's draft star, and dominating the narrative in the media, as well as So. Much. More. Grinding. A full-time commitment is required in order to take a player from having an overall rating of 60 and yearning for a simple layup or easy assist to having a level of competence that is above and beyond what is expected of them on the court.

You will spend the entirety of your career in MyCity, which has the appearance of a large metropolis filled with stadiums, gyms, clothing shops, high-rise flats, and tube stations. But the city only occasionally gives the impression that it is actually alive. It does not feel like a location where people live, play basketball, or engage in other types of leisure activities; rather, it has the vibe of a place where people simply are. However, given the nature of the game as a sports simulator rather than an open-world sandbox, this may be to be expected.

NBA 2K is the only series of sports video games that doesn't make it a habit of disappointing its player base like it's groundhog day. In a landscape that is dominated by games that simply do not justify their existence beyond a $70 roster update, this makes NBA 2K stand out as an anomaly in the industry. No matter how much Visual Concepts modifies and improves the many game modes in NBA 2K, gameplay will always be the most important aspect of the game. Even though there is certainly room for improvement, the developers of NBA 2K23 did a fantastic job of ensuring that players had a pleasant experience while still providing a realistic simulation of basketball.

The addition of new adrenaline boosters that each player can use in addition to their stamina meter is the most significant change that has been made for this year's iteration. Every player has three opportunities to receive an adrenaline boost, which they can use to drive activities that they take on the court, such as trying to steal the ball, crossing up a defender, or jumping for a rebound. As a result of this modification, players will no longer be able to dribble the ball indefinitely or use the "pump fake" move under the basket hundreds of times in order to ensure that they get a basket for free. 

The developers at Visuals Concepts have outdone themselves with NBA 2K23, which is a truly fantastic game that caters to players of all ages and skill levels with a wide variety of options.

Although there is a wealth of single-player and multiplayer challenges available to assist in the accumulation of virtual currency (VC) and restocking your team, MyTeam may be a grind when the loan players obtained in the early creation of your team disappear and you are forced to create the squad virtually from start again. However, there is also a wealth of challenges available to assist in this process. To add insult to injury, the in-game microtransactions have seen a significant setback across all of the game types. However, exchanging real money for virtual currency is largely kept in the background, and instead, 2K has offered players in-game activities that can help boost their career stats and MyTeam squad. Their presence is still felt, especially when the grind builds up to such a degree that one may wonder if there is an easier way.

The length of time it takes to load is another source of frustration. Sometimes it would take up to two minutes to load, and I would have to restart the whole game because I thought it had stalled on the loading screen. Other times, it would load in less than a minute. Sometimes it would simply completely freeze up, which was particularly annoying in MyTeam because quitting and restarting the game would result in a loss on your record and the loan players' contracts running out. However, those flaws that need to be ironed out should not tarnish what is essentially a strong sports simulator, which is packed with information that pays homage to the star-studded history of basketball. Thankfully, the microtransactions that can speed up the process but gave the impression that you had to pay to win in NBA 2K22 have been mostly pushed to the background, and there are a great number of side missions that can help with the process of increasing ratings. 2K has also expanded the RPG features by adding choices players may make that have an effect on the leadership traits and boosts that can be triggered in the game. It is a slow burner at first until you are providing more than six points, two assists, and three turnovers a game in the ten minutes that you are allowed to go off the bench. There is a plethora of things to engage with, but it is a slow burner until you reach that point.