PlayStation 4
Released in 2015 by 2K Sports
Grade: A+
This game is the peak of the NBA 2K series, extremely well-crafted, deep, challenging, realistic, and sleek.
Where it falls in the series
The PS4 versions started with NBA 2K14 and are still going today in 2021. The series got a new engine for 2K17, and it’s generally considered a step down.
That’s not the only reason this game has a special place in my heart. The real-life NBA style changed rapidly in the years following 2K16, and the series has tried to evolve with it, so this is the last version that feels like basketball “the way it used to be” for old farts like me.
Praises and gripes
Reason #1 this game kicks ass: It actually feels a lot like basketball. The controls are definitely complicated, but they give you all the abilities that you need on the court. The core AI keeps the nine other guys playing like real players. The animations feel organic.
Reason #2: It’s deep and nuanced. Each player is different, with a unique set of skills and tendencies. Their tendencies go way beyond what you get from other modern sports sims. There’s a large set of plays, plus about a million coaching options. When you put it all together, games can become highly tactical, and you’ll never get the same game twice.
Reason #3: It’s tough. The learning curve is steep to begin with, and as you get better, you can dial up the difficulty notch by notch. The AI stays realistic, giving you a challenge that feels natural. Your opponents won’t beat you with cheap tricks as much as they’ll beat you with smart strategy and effective execution.
Reason #4: It looks awesome. The players look unique, they move with life-like finesse, the courts are faithful, and the arena buzzes with energy. This game is a delight to look at.
Reason #5: There are FORTY-SIX classic teams in this game, with the 80s and 90s being particularly well-represented. Considering how this game does a great job making players behave like their real-life counterparts, this adds oodles of depth and massive nostalgia points.
Substantial nitpick #1: The ballhandling moves have a slightly “floaty” quality to them. It makes dribbling more workable, which I think is the point, but I don’t know, maybe your jackass friend will walk by as you’re playing this game and be like, “Eww, this game looks stupid, can we play Call of Duty now?”
Substantial nitpick #2: On default settings, the gameplay is almost too stepped in its own sense of realism, leading to open shots going in too often, and contested shots not going in enough. Oh! Excuse me! This just in! There are sliders for like 30,000 different aspects of the game. If you tinker with the sliders, you can smooth this out and make the game a bit more realistic and fair. Try this slider set from ThatMichiganFan on Operation Sports.
Substantial nitpick #3: Passing can be hard. This year, there are dedicated buttons for bounce pass or overhead pass, but I think it makes passing harder, not easier. Like most everything else in the game, the learning curve on passing is pretty steep.
Pointless nitpick: There’s a “story mode” that came straight from the mind of Spike Lee, and everyone who ever reviewed this game thought it was pretty dumb. You work your way up from a teenaged streetballer, through the NCAA (including genuine-looking NCAA games using faithful jerseys and courts from eight top college teams), through the NBA, all while having cheesy conversations and making decisions that don’t affect where the story goes. I’ve already seen He Got Game, so I ignore this mode.
NBA 2K16 might not be quite perfect, but it’s as good as a basketball simulation gets.