I didn’t really start getting into sports until pretty late in high school. I’d had a passing interest in them, but had never really gotten too enamoured with watching them until I hit my late teens. Then, for whatever reason, I suddenly became obsessed with them. Hours would be spent watching them, while I also started getting into sports games as well. My love for sports games has waned over the year, but I’ve started feeling the itch again recently and so have started jumping back in. The latest game to scratch that itch is NBA 2K21, which I’ve spent a few hours with so far over this weekend.

I think I’ve made it pretty clear over both my PGA TOUR 2K21 and UFC 4 reviews that career modes are the first thing I dive into, and that’s no different with NBA 2K21. The second the game was downloaded and installed, I flowed straight into the MyCareer menu and got stuck in.

Creating my player was the first thing to do and I was glad to see the creator was still super in depth. After checking out the different position options and the potential stat spreads they came with, I settled on a small forward for my version of Junior. After further altering his height, wingspan and weight (all of which altered his potential stats as well) I got my journey started. I will take a second here to also mention that my experience is based on the Mamba Forever Edition of NBA 2K21, so I had plenty of VC right off the bat to pump up Junior’s stats.

From there, it was off to High School where we needed to play a few games to get colleges interested in us. The story kicked off super quickly, with Djimon Hounsou playing your high school coach. He does a fantastic job of playing the stern, yet caring coach that is trying to look out for his students health and best interests. It’s clear that as Junior is trying to reach the highest heights possible that he might need some protection from himself at points.

As you play those high school matches, you’ll get an update after each match on which colleges are interested in recruiting you. There’s 10 all up and by the end of my high school career, I had my pick of 7 of them.

After choosing to join the Connecticut Huskies, it was off to College and time to play some more basketball. The main motivation there wasn’t too different, except that Junior is now playing to enhance his draft prospects and it’s now NBA clubs that are showing interest. College also brings a shift in characters and tone, with Junior continuing to battle with his own ambitions, but now with friends and a budding relationship around himself. The performances have continued to be pretty good, which I’ve come to expect from an NBA 2K career mode.

After playing a good number of games of basketball in NBA 2K21, I seem to be finding my groove in the game. I’ve personally stuck with pressing square for my jump shots, as opposed to using the pro-stick shooting, but beyond that I’m pushing last three initial learning curve that comes with having not played an NBA game in years. I’ve got my layups and dunks down, I’m smashing the assists and even though Junior’s defensive stats are abysmal I’m handy enough in defence. The controls definitely took some getting used to, but there’s plenty of tutorials to get stuck into if you need a refresher, while the games in MyCareer aren’t so difficult that you can’t fumble around a little bit early on.

The game has also looked absolutely fantastic so far in my time with it as well. Junior and the other main characters are all fantastically detailed, while the sweat truly glistens after a match. Court reflections are significantly more detailed than I expected, while the crowds and other players also look fantastic. It’s obvious that 2K put a hell of a lot of resources into making NBA 2K21 look and feel great. The only glitch I’ve run into so far as the camera shaking constantly when an opposition player is taking free throws, so there’s not too much that’s gone wrong either.

It’s still early days in my time with NBA 2K21, but I plan to spend plenty more time getting myself into the NBA and dedicated time to MyTeam, the Neighborhood and the other online modes the game has to offer. Keep an eye out in the future for my full review. For more information on the game, check out our NBA 2K21 hub or the official website.