Monday Tip-Off: Revisiting Games Outside of MyCAREER
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 some thoughts on revisiting games in which I mostly played MyCAREER, and enjoying some fresh experiences.
When it comes to our impressions of basketball games with an array of modes, what we play is a significant factor. After all, while the underlying gameplay mechanics are obviously the same, their suitability and our tolerance for any issues can vary from mode to mode. There have definitely been games that were more enjoyable in certain modes, depending on the tuning and whether or not we could alter it. As such, if you mostly stick to one mode, you may not be aware of some of a game’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s why we can remember the same games very differently.
After really getting into MyCAREER in NBA 2K13, it became my mode of choice for the next seven years or so. That’s not to say that it was the only mode I played, but when it comes to NBA 2K on PlayStation 4 and PC, many of my fondest memories are of MyCAREER and its connected experiences. I don’t regret that, as it represents hours of fun on the virtual hardwood. At the same time, it does mean that there were modes and content I wasn’t able to truly enjoy, since levelling up a MyPLAYER and playing through an NBA season is a huge commitment. To that end, revisiting some of those games and playing something other than MyCAREER has been refreshing.
NBA 2K17 is a great example of this. After a full season in MyCAREER and 500 games of 2K Pro-Am, it was firmly established as one of my all-time favourite hoops titles. However, for all of the hours that I sunk into NBA 2K17 back then, few were spent the way I’d played basketball video games growing up, i.e. controlling all five players in either franchise or exhibition games. I logged enough hours of “traditional” gameplay to have fun and form a clear opinion of NBA 2K17 as a whole, but most of my memories and subsequent nostalgia are tied up in MyCAREER and its connected modes. As such, they’ve been the metric for my enjoyment and ranking of the game.
And so, it’s been a delight to revisit NBA 2K17 – both on PC and PlayStation 4, so that I can use the All-Time College DLC – and make some new memories with it outside of MyCAREER. With its fantastic steal mechanics, it’s been a joy to put one of the classic Chicago Bulls teams on the virtual hardwood, pick a defender’s pocket with Michael Jordan, and get out on the break for an emphatic jam. No matter who I’m playing with, putting up shots and tossing lobs has been far more satisfying than in any of the recent NBA 2K games. It’s been most gratifying to have confirmed that the traditional 5v5 experience is just as fun – just as well-designed – as MyCAREER.
My experiences with other eighth generation NBA 2K games and their PC ports have been similar. I need to spend some more time outside of MyCAREER in NBA 2K15 – which I played through in order to finally cover it for Wayback Wednesday – but I’ve enjoyed a handful of exhibition games. The same goes for NBA 2K16. I already felt that NBA 2K13 through NBA 2K17 was a very strong run for the series, but again, my impressions were primarily based on playing MyCAREER and the online team play modes. It’s been nice to confirm that the games were just as strong across the board, and comment on the traditional non-player locked gameplay in greater detail.
Moreover, it’s been rewarding to create some new memories with some more recent classics, and take advantage of content that I underutilised while focusing so much of my attention on MyCAREER. The addition of new classic teams was always good news that I loved hearing during the preview seasons, and indeed, I’ve written several Friday Five features suggesting retro squads that I’d like to see added to NBA 2K. The irony of course is that despite my enthusiasm for the news and the possibilities for any future additions, I was barely playing with those classic teams! It would’ve taken time away from making my MyPLAYER a Legend, not to mention viable for online play.
These days however, I’m not beholden to getting on the grind in MyCAREER as soon as a new game drops. To that point, I haven’t been especially keen on playing recent NBA 2K games at all! Dusting off an eighth gen NBA 2K and putting a couple of the classic teams on the floor has been an awesome double dose of nostalgia, though. I don’t like to say that it’s making up for lost time, because that implies that all those hours in MyCAREER were a waste, and I don’t consider that to be the case. With that being said, using those classic teams that were then new additions, as well as the All-Time College DLC, helps me to feel like I’m getting the most out of retro gaming.
I’ll admit that it makes me slightly wistful that I didn’t make a bigger effort to change up my habits earlier, and mix things up with some franchise gaming and exhibitions with the classic teams in those titles. Again, I don’t regret playing MyCAREER, and there’s nothing stopping me from enjoying those other experiences now. Still, I’d say it contributed to those habits becoming ingrained, and eventually a rut that I had to get out of. I do have more regrets when it comes to MyTEAM, since it’s inaccessible with the server shutdowns. I actually assembled an incredible MyTEAM lineup in NBA 2K19 just through Locker Codes and the like, and I wish I’d taken advantage of that.
Once again though, it’s been satisfying to revisit these games that I’ve already spent so much time with, and enjoy them in new ways; or more accurately, the way I would’ve before getting hooked on MyCAREER! That’s not to say that I won’t ever dabble with MyCAREER in any game where it’s still available, but apart from NBA 2K14, it’s not a priority. Even then, I still enjoy playing with the classic teams for the Retro Series, as well as the 2014 rosters. Because the eighth generation NBA 2K titles are so deep, from the scope of their offline modes to their bonus content, they remain fresh even after sinking hundreds of hours into them, and achieving some sense of completion.
This also applies to NBA 2K13, and the prior gen version of NBA 2K14. Way back in 2012, MyCAREER was a fresh experience to dive into in NBA 2K13. Now in 2025, playing with classic teams, contemporary rosters, and of course retro season mods, allows it to be exciting and new all over again. Likewise, NBA 2K14 PC has brand new appeal. The game left me cold in 2013, as starting over in MyCAREER was a struggle, and a low-rated MyPLAYER is no way to enjoy the gameplay! Now that I have a better appreciation for NBA 2K14 on PS4, revisiting the PC version to finish LeBron: Path to Greatness and create some other memories is an appealing prospect.
In short, even without online features and modes, there’s plenty of incentive to revisit a number of games from a decade ago, or even earlier. Of course, on a more sombre note, doing so has emphasised just how disposable the annual releases have become. Because those older releases weren’t as reliant on live service content and had some unique modes and fun extras, there are reasons to revisit them; especially if you spent most of your time with them in MyCAREER as I did. As Dee and I discussed when we ranked the NBA 2K games on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, older titles had unique character, charm, and an identity that makes them worth revisiting years later.
That’s not to say that they’re all perfectly intact, or that Take-Two weren’t invested in getting us to buy the new game. The point of annual sports games has always been to get us to pick up the latest title for the new season. Older generations of NBA 2K and NBA Live didn’t feel as disposable, though. There wasn’t the same proactive pressure to get gamers to move on and never feel the need or desire to go back. Sure, there was still some semblance of FOMO and planned obsolescence with old games, as features, content, and even vital updates were lost when their online support ended. There’s still a lot there to enjoy though, not the least of which is a great sim gameplay experience.
Yes, it would be nice if some of my online MyCAREER saves were still accessible, and could be converted to offline files. For retro gaming purposes, it’d be preferable if the offline versions of MyCAREER were more fully-featured. As my ongoing NBA 2K14 MyCAREER demonstrates, I’m still interested in that experience. I’ve already had thousands of hours of fun playing the games that way, though. I’m now keen to delve into the modes and content that I overlooked and underutilised while I was hooked on MyCAREER and online team play. I appreciate games like NBA 2K17 even more, and look forward to having them as a part of my retro gaming rotation.
I also believe that revisiting these games has allowed me to sharpen some of the stick skills that atrophied through years of playing MyCAREER; not so much knowledge of moves and twitch reflexes, but strategy and assertiveness. When you’re locked to a single player, there’s a safety net as far as your teammates making big plays in your stead, whether they’re controlled by the AI or another gamer in online team play. If nothing else, you grow accustomed to filling a particular role and playing style, which may not call for certain skills and strategies. Substitutions aren’t an issue in Pro-Am, The Rec, or Park, while the CPU handles them and other decisions in MyCAREER.
When you’re controlling the entire team however, you need to make those decisions and plays yourself. It’s something I always enjoyed about solo season and franchise play, but I’ve had to polish up those skills as I’ve moved beyond MyCAREER. These sessions have been extremely helpful in getting reacquainted with using players with different skills, styles, and animations. Obviously there’s familiarity with the controls and mechanics, but playing with different teams in a variety of games has improved my ability to adjust to the players on the floor and use them effectively; again, a skill that had atrophied because MyCAREER’s gameplay doesn’t require you to do that.
Speaking of playing with different teams, that’s been another enjoyable part of going back and spending time with games where MyCAREER was my original mode of choice. As much as I enjoy career and franchise modes for their longevity and the ability to write virtual history with the team of your choice – or the team that chooses you, as the case may be – playing with the same roster and looking at the same jerseys over and over again does get repetitive. Eschewing MyCAREER has let me see some fresh faces and team branding at the same time as enjoying a familiar gameplay experience. And of course, there’s the interactive almanac aspect of retro gaming.
It goes back to breaking some habits that had become a rut; a comfortable rut, but a rut nevertheless. That began with my Parsec sessions with Dee. Revisiting a bunch of games and trying some new ones definitely encouraged me to pull away from a mode that was getting stale, and in many ways return to my basketball gaming roots. Our sessions with games such as NBA 2K17 inspired me to revisit them and experience what was on offer beyond MyCAREER. It was an illuminating reminder that even though I felt a sense of completion and satisfaction with MyCAREER and the online modes, they weren’t the only experiences on offer, and there’s still more fun to be had.
That’s why retro basketball gaming is my preference nowadays. When the choice is between classic games that hold up and still have untapped potential, and games that feel way more disposable and nowhere near as fun to me, it’s no contest! Once again, I have no regrets about playing MyCAREER for so many years. For a long time, it was a blast, especially in NBA 2K17 with the peak of 2K Pro-Am. Now that I’m done with it though – in new releases, anyway – I can go back and enjoy many games anew. No grinding, no FOMO, no worries of losing progress and access, and no pressure to move on. Just fresh experiences and even more fun with some all-time favourites!
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