Best basketball game to play today?

[Boge]

I haven't enjoyed a bball game since 2K11. They've become too much about presentation and graphics/animations. I feel like I'm playing Mortal Kombat, pressing a few buttons and then just watching the animations play out. At least the ones I've played most recently.

What would you say is the best to play today? I don't care about online play, by the way.

[tril]

2k17, 2k19 hold up well. has a nice balance of today's NBA and defensive style from 2k16.

[drugsbunny]

2k23 is a great game once you get used to accepting that you actually have to play basketball in a smart manner. I like the fact that you can select the timing of your shots based on what animations you choose. I feel like the very late timing is on par with how the game used to playout when shooting jump shots. The ability to hang on the rim is a small addition, but its something that I feel should remain in the game for the rest of existence. I also enjoyed NBA 2K21 and the shot aiming mechanism. It brought something different to shooting jump shots.

[Boge]

Does the PC version of the game being last gen hurt the experience? I forgot to mention I'd be playing on PC.

[mkharsh33]

I'm still playing 2K11. Graphics a bit dated but still the greatest basketball game I've ever played. I have 2K 23 - meh, just doesn't do it for me.

[Gramps91]

I like 2k23 for the presentation and MyEra stuff and I like the gameplay. There are still a few others I prefer when it comes to gameplay. The game that made me fall in love with basketball games in general was NBA Jam 2000 on the N64. It has some flaws but still it's a pretty unique experience in terms of the engine. I also loved NBA Live 2004, it's still my favorite game ever to this day. 2k10 and 2k11 makes me feel like a Freshman in college again and I love the soundtracks on those games.

Also I'd be amiss to not mention College Hoops 2k8.

[youvalss]

Love NBA 2K15, went back to play it a couple of weeks ago and have been playing since.

Sadly, when I re-installed it my old roster file got corrupted and lost forever, so I've been using the default roster as a base and been going through every team and edit players' bodies, attributes and tendencies. Looks like it's not the original July 20, 2014 roster because I've checked and some August 2014 trades are in. Maybe when the game was updated it also received some roster changes, not sure...

Anyway, I thought of playing 2K16 because overall it's a better game. But 2K15 just pulled me back, something about it is just so fun that I can't stop playing it (I'm an offline-only gamer). There is some of the old sliding there, but with some slider and roster edits it plays a great game if basketball with realistic stats. Love it!

[vtcrb]

I am back on NBA 2K14, the CPU AI is top notch.