The series of sports simulation video games known as NBA 2K is commonly seen as the premiere basketball gaming franchise, but there is no doubt that some of the games in the series have been stronger than others. Although it has received yearly updates since its original release in 1999, helping to keep the title relevant for each basketball season, not every game has felt like a slam dunk. The best NBA 2K games have robust features, polished systems, and dynamic gameplay that make them evergreen.

Appropriately debuting with NBA 2K, the franchise became an instant threat to EA Sports' NBA Live, the basketball title that was at the top of the food chain at the time. Over the decades, 2K so routinely beat Live that the competing publisher, EA, canceled games and rebooted its series. With more than two decades' worth of entries, it's interesting to look back at which of the NBA 2K titles are its best. Ranking the best NBA 2K games helps showcase the heights of the franchise, and weighing the pros and cons of each can help future players with knowing which game is worth their time in the large catalog of 2K titles.

Determinations for placement in this list are based on a combination of Screen Rant reviews, player reviews, and Metacritic scores.

20 NBA 2K22 (Released September 2021)

Metacritic Score 76

In Screen Rant's review of NBA 2K22, it is said that this edition of the game shines on the court, which is, of course, the most important part of a basketball simulation game. It has some areas where the series was trying to balance things out, such as the MyCareer mode format, but there are still enough engaging things to do within the virtual basketball playing that makes up for a lot of the growing pains that NBA 2K was experiencing at this point in its history.

Around the time that NBA 2K22 was released, the 2K series had been adding lots of non-basketball elements with things to do around The City. This included everything from grabbing a cup of coffee to riding skateboards, but with so many different things that they were focusing on, some fans said that it began to be a bit much. Its updates to MyTeam, MyCareer, and other areas that emphasize the basketball focus are well done, and were a positive step forward.

19 NBA 2K20 (Released September 2019)

Metacritic Score 78

NBA 2K20 is far from a franchise height, feeling like just another NBA 2K installment in many ways. These issues were compounded by monetization that turned many fans and critics off from the game. A 78 on Metacritic is a solid score but represents fairly low marks for a generally acclaimed series overall, and sadly, the series only saw further decline with its next year's entry only hitting a score of 68.

NBA 2K20 was criticized primarily for lack of innovation or change from its previous year.

18 NBA 2K23 (Released September 2022)

Metacritic Score 78, Score 4.4

Although the heavy emphasis on microtransactions considerably hurt NBA 2K23 in its review scores. The pay-to-win aspect of its microtransactions make the online modes in MyCareer nearly impossible to win without spending a significant amount of money. However, for anyone who is not playing online, the game offered some of the best mechanics for balanced gameplay with more intelligent AI players than previous years had seen.

NBA 2K23 also introduced several nostalgia-inducing retro modes that look at the history of basketball, in addition to several other modes that can hold players' interest for countless hours. Overall, it isn't even close to being the best in the series, but it still offers many exciting hours of gameplay with a lifelike feel.

17 NBA 2K25 (Released September 2024)

Metacritic Score 79, Score 5.8

NBA 2K25 came on the heels of the poorly reviewed NBA 2K24, and certainly learned from the mistakes of the previous year. NBA 2K25 significantly updated the game engine to make it more realistic feeling, improved the offensive and defensive strategies of players, and added over 9,000 moves and animations. The ProPLAY system of the series was also greatly enhanced to translate real-life movements of basketball players into the video game, even adding signature shots that are unique for each player.

As if that wasn't already enough, NBA 2K25 overhauled its dribble engine for the first time in 15 years, giving much more precise movements and immersive qualities. Also, the popular MyCAREER and MyPLAYER modes received significant updates, even allowing MyPLAYER characters to have their stats compared to the greats such as Michael Jordan.

16 NBA 2K19 (Released September 2018)

Metacritic Score 82, Score 2.9

When a gaming series has been around for so long, it is bound to run into traps of sameness and even staleness at points. NBA 2K19 is a clear representation of this. Critic reviews were certainly not poor, with an 82 on Metacritic, but it missed the mark compared to some prior entries and fell victim to some review bombing from s who were disappointed in it, bringing its Score to 2.9.

The game mostly nailed everything that it had in the past, but by this point, it was a lot of what fans had come to expect and know. It needed something to rejuvenate things, which didn't happen.

15 NBA 2K10 (Released October 2009)

Metacritic Score 82

It could be argued that the greatest player to ever grace the cover of these games was Kobe Bryant, the cover athlete for NBA 2K10 and who made a return appearance for NBA 2K21. NBA 2K10 was a very important entry in the series for one key reason: it was the installment to mark the debut of the MyPlayer mode, which remains a favorite over a decade later.

Of course, the mode had some things to work out, but it was still a well-received addition to the franchise. The game did have a handful of technical problems, especially upon release, but not enough to hold it back from an 82 score on Metacritic.

14 NBA 2K15 (Released October 2014)

Metacritic Score 83

In a lot of ways, the mid-2010s was the golden age for the franchise as NBA 2K kept adding new features to keep things fresh and spice up an already great game. With NBA 2K15, MyCareer was made better than ever before and added a coaching advice feature. Its innovative new scanning feature was also introduced, allowing players to scan their faces and have them appear in the game. This allowed for NBA players to be personalized to look pretty much like the person behind the controller, and was a fun immersive feature that helped the game earn an 83 on Metacritic.

13 NBA 2K7 (Released September 2006)

Metacritic Score 84

NBA 2K7 was a satisfactory entry to the series only marred by disappointing character models and poor animation. While those issues were very clear and were a detriment to the game's overall presentation, the game shined in almost every other area. The gameplay was again a hit, but it also had well-received aspects, like Association mode and Street mode, which helped earn an 84 on Metacritic. One cool but small addition came as a great PlayStation exclusive feature, where players could shoot free throws by mimicking the real-life motion of taking a shot.

12 NBA 2K9 (Released October 2008)

Metacritic Score 84

By this point, it was abundantly clear that the NBA 2K franchise was light years ahead of NBA Live. Although the 2009 version of the EA Sports game was solid, NBA 2K9 just kept adding to an already impressive legacy, putting NBA Champion Kevin Garnett on the cover. The main reason for the positive reception and 84 on Metacritic was how realistic the experience was. Not only was the gameplay up to par, but things like halftime shows and commentary were fantastic, while the HD visuals were easily the best to that point. The only negative was that it didn't add many new modes.

11 NBA 2K14 (Released October 2013)

Metacritic Score 84

NBA 2K14 earned a solid score with an 84 on Metacritic, which showed some consistency for the franchise with most of the games landing in the mid-80s. 2K14 brought in the LeBron James: Path to Greatness mode, Euroleague teams, and a stellar soundtrack. In fact, James did more than just simply pose for the cover, and was also a part of curating the soundtrack for the game and worked as an unofficial producer for the game developers. This helped to make it feel more like a realistic NBA experience.