NBA 2K26, huh? NBA 2K feels as familiar as it did over ten years ago and that’s exactly how it sounds. Every year, 2K Sports releases what is essentially the same game with a reshuffled story and an updated roster. There might be a bit of spit shine applied to the presentation, but nothing has fundamentally changed under the hood. It’s still fun, to a point. The thing is, basketball as a video game really doesn’t have that much room to move. There are only so many ways to represent five blokes, or women, running up and down the court and I think 2K worked that out a very long time ago. The running joke continues to be that it’s an expensive roster update each year. Minor presentation refinements aside, nothing major ever changes. The MyPlayer story mode is usually engaging enough and 2K probably deserve a little credit there. I guess it helps when you’re the only company shipping out a basketball game every year. With zero competition, 2K can churn out whatever they like and oh, you better believe it’ll sell. Any time I bite the bullet and actually pay for NBA 2K, the only real differences I notice are how bad my shot timing has gotten and how aggressively they’re trying to vacuum out my wallet for VC.
I’m running NBA 2K26 on the Steam Deck at default settings with the default control scheme and it plays exactly like you’d expect. Overall, it’s a comfortable experience on the Steam Deck. For comparisons sake, I remember playing on the Switch a few years back and those flat controllers induced cramping like it was nobody’s business. If you’ve played NBA 2K before you’ll pick it up in no time, I didn’t need to relearn anything. The only real issue you may run into is the on-screen keyboard being a bit of a pain to sign into your 2K account and to name your player or team. Performance wise, the default settings look good off the bat on the Steam Deck. It’s basketball, it hasn’t really looked all that different in twenty-odd years at this point. I almost never dive into frame rate numbers in any of my posts… and of course, today will be no exception. I’ve played through the Out of Bounds story and well into my first season with no noticeable stuttering or slowdowns. The whole experience has felt smooth and consistent throughout. I’ve seen a heap of reports about frame drops and stuttering, but I just haven’t had that experience myself. I typically stick to MyCareer, MyGM and singleplayer modes, I just don’t really care about multiplayer. If you’re looking to crank the settings right up, uh… why? It’s a basketball game that has zero competition to keep it honest. It has looked essentially the same, regardless of graphics settings, for nearly two decades.
The Steam Deck’s smaller screen probably does the presentation a couple favours. Those plain, basic looking crowd models and spectators that mull around and generic background filler that’s been recycled year on year kinda skates by on a handheld in a way it wouldn’t on a big TV. Text and menus look pretty great throughout too, with everything scaling nicely and I never ran into any issues reading text. The presentation is pretty in line with what 2K has always shot for, which is a true-to-life broadcast experience. This year brings some noticeable tweaks rather than just being a straight-up reskin. Crowd variety, while still pretty basic, has been bulked up with a few more body types, ages and less of that awkward look where everyone stands and sits at the same time. I didn’t look too closely, but the changes were definitely there. The commentary definitely sounded a lot more fluid this year. Tim Legler joins the booth alongside the ever familiar Kevin Harlan and the rest of the crew. It tries pretty hard to immitate what you’d expect from an NBA broadcast, including late game tone shifts when a game is tight which is a pretty nice touch. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to make me forget that I’m experiencing basically the same broadcast package I’ve been seeing for nearly two decades. Oh yeah, you’ll still cringe every time you hear your name called as “MP”.
Look, the game itself is fine. But the Neighbourhood… uh, The City, whatever the fuck it’s called, it stinks. You could argue it’s nice to have extra things to do, but in practice it’s a constant barrage of pop-ups harrassing you to do quests or events like you’ve been infected with some heavy-duty malware. Microtransactions for VC are also forcibly shoved down your throat at every opportunity, as is tradition. It’s packed to the brim with ways to lever money out of your wallet and into 2K’s coffers. The math isn’t exactly subtle on it either. As a lot of players have pointed out this year, you’re basically going to be paying full price for the game and then another chunk on top to make your MyPlayer usable in a reasonable timeframe. If you’re set on forking over your hard-earned, try to shop around for a deal on the Superstar Edition rather than paying full price. I picked it up for about twenty bucks from GameBillet a few months back. That’ll at least jumpstart your MyCareer without needing to grind as hard or spend extra money. The Out of Bounds story is decent enough and flows well, which almost makes the end sting more. SPOILERS INCOMING. It’s believable right up until you get drafted in the second round with literally zero ability to influence your draft stock, even if you’re dominating at both ends. It’s a cop out. The one part of the experience that’s meant to reward your input on the court and it just… doesn’t. Your fate has already been spoken for.
So, is NBA 2K26 on the Steam Deck worth your time, or your money? At full price: absolutely not. There’s not enough new content here to justify the hefty price tag, and that’s without even considering the potential cost of VC. If you’re playing MyCareer, The City is still a relatively uninspiring, in-your-face, notification riddled mess and the VC grind is as aggressive as ever. You’ll be pushed to spend real money and that’s clearly not slowing down anytime soon, even as they gear up for NBA 2K27. But, if you can find a cheap deal for the Superstar Edition, around that twenty to twenty-five dollar mark, it comes bundled with 100,000 VC to jump start your MyPlayer and get you to the point of actually having fun by skipping the opening grind fest. At that price, I think it’s worth your time. NBA 2K26 runs great on the Steam Deck and the default settings look good with exactly zero messing around. The official control scheme is familiar as ever and the Out of Bounds MyCareer story is good enough to avoid feeling like an agonising slog, even if the ending is a complete cop out. If you approach it with low expectations, like you haven’t already played the same game a dozen or so times, I think you can have plenty of fun here. I’ve sunk some hours into it now and after not buying NBA 2K for a few years, I’m having a pretty nice time. If you can pick it up cheap enough and skip the opening grind, you can sit back and just enjoy the ride for what it is.
Verdict:
NBA 2K26 runs smoothly on the Steam Deck, the controls are comfortable and familiar. But, this is absolutely an expensive roster update. The MyCareer story is decent enough, but it’s still the same old 2K with the same old complaints. If you can get a deal on the Superstar Edition, you can skip the opening grind and shortcut your way to a relatively useful MyPlayer. It’s good enough to sink some hours into, provided the price is right.
Deck Compatibility: 10/10
Overall Game Rating: 6/10 – Same Ol’ 2K
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