NBA 2K19 turned 20 years of the franchise into a victory lap, and for the most part it earns the parade. Visual Concepts built a basketball game that plays better than it has in years, wrapped it in a cover class that spans three continents, and then handed the whole thing to a mode that keeps asking for your wallet.
Trailer, via NBA 2K.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Ben Simmons Share the Cover
The standard edition puts Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks on the front. The 20th Anniversary Edition belongs to LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, his second turn after NBA 2K14. In Australia and New Zealand, Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons takes the cover, a nod to the game’s reach beyond North America.
The game launched September 11, 2018, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. It is the 20th installment in the NBA 2K franchise, following NBA 2K18 and preceding NBA 2K20.
‘The Way Back’ and the Neighborhood
The career mode is called “The Way Back,” and it brings a real cast: Anthony Mackie, Aldis Hodge, Haley Joel Osment, Ginger Gonzaga, Rob Huebel, Mo McRae, Ricky Whittle and Michael Rapaport. It also adds authentic CBA commentary in Mandarin Chinese, a first for the series.
The Neighborhood returns as the open-world hub, the space where a career becomes a place you hang around in. It is the clearest statement of what NBA 2K19 wants to be — not just a simulation, but a destination.
MyTeam is back for the seventh time, built around collecting cards and running your own squad. The pieces you assemble:
- Players, jerseys, logos, coach and court
- Playbooks and other items pulled from packs
- Cards rated by overall, including the new Galaxy Opal tier at 99
There is also the Heat Check card, which shifts a player’s rating based on how he performs in real life. Unlimited mode is new, and it puts players in a $250,000 tournament that also sends the winner to the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.
Where the Money Comes In
MyTeam is where the game’s worst habit lives. Card packs cost Virtual Currency, packs hand back random items, and the loop tilts hard toward spending. The mode is generous with ideas and stingy with restraint. That tension is the one thing NBA 2K19 never resolves.
The ranking of what works here is not close:
- On-court gameplay, the best the series has offered
- The Neighborhood and its sense of place
- “The Way Back” and its cast
- MyTeam’s economy, which drags everything down
The servers for NBA 2K19 went dark on December 31, 2020, which means the multiplayer and the tournament chase are now history. What remains is the single-player side and the basketball itself.
That is the honest read. NBA 2K19 is a very good basketball game that keeps interrupting itself to sell you something. The praise for its gameplay is deserved; so is the criticism of its microtransactions. Twenty years in, the franchise knows exactly how to move on the floor and exactly how far it can push a player’s patience.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
