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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 picking up where I left off in Year 7 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER.
After wrapping up my sixth season in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER and playing the first couple of games in Year 7, I decided to take a break. It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying the journey anymore, but I felt it was time for a change. And so, I put that game on ice, with the intention of picking it up whenever I felt like it. Since then however, other basketball gaming activities have held my attention. It wasn’t until Dee and I were discussing our virtual hardwood habits so far in 2026 on the NLSC Podcast a couple of weeks ago that I thought about just how long it’s been since I fired up that save file.
To that point, my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER has been on the bench since September 2025. In other words, almost eight months now! I was surprised when I checked the date, though it speaks to how quickly the days, months, and indeed years fly by. I certainly don’t regret taking a break as I’m enjoying what I’ve been playing all year, but I have been thinking about bringing my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER back into the rotation. I’ll be alternating between it and other games more frequently than before, as it’s already been a long and satisfying journey, and I don’t want to shelve the titles I’ve been enjoying. Still, Year 7 features an intriguing scenario that’s drawing me back.
Entering Year 7 in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I’ve won six consecutive championships with the Philadelphia 76ers. I’ve found a fictional teammate in Terry Hanson that I really enjoy, have put up some ridiculous numbers – as we all end up doing with our MyPLAYERs – and secured enshrinement in the Hall of Fame when I hang it up. In short, it’s already been a rather full and exciting career. Nevertheless, I still feel that there are more adventures to be had with the mode. Every season so far has had its own story, making it feel special. Sure, the ending has ultimately been the same, but injuries and player movement have given every year different twists and subplots.
Right out of the gate, Year 7 has set itself up to be a very different campaign. After keeping the same core rotation together for the past three or four seasons, team brass have really shaken things up in an effort to keep winning titles. Carmelo Anthony – who signed with us in 2014 – finally moved on after surprisingly returning on a one-year deal last season, having seemingly had one foot out the door throughout 2018. He’s been replaced by Tyreke Evans. We also signed DeMar DeRozan, which pushed Michael Carter-Williams to the bench and moved me back to point guard. Nerlens Noel is also gone – a little later than in real life – with J.J. Hickson taking his place.
There are still nine players left from our 2019 championship team: my MyPLAYER, Hanson, MCW, Thaddeus Young, Tony Wroten, Allen Wall, Trevor Booker, Darrel Stewart, and Arnett Moultrie. Still, with two starters departing and three new players in the starting five for Year 7, it definitely feels like a different team. On one hand, I’m pleased to see it. The lack of significant player movement has been one of my biggest pet peeves with NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, as it’s made the league feel a bit stagnant. It also makes sense that the team is reloading for a shot at a seventh title, and that with a new coach – Tom Thibodeau – we’ll see some lineup adjustments.
On the other hand, I still have some frustrations with the rotation. It’s great that the situation with Carter-Williams has been somewhat resolved by his move back to the bench, but he’s still getting too many minutes as the sixth man. With me as the star and starting point guard playing 41 minutes, he shouldn’t be the first man off the bench. MCW’s role and the acquisition of Tyreke Evans unfortunately also mean that Terry Hanson remains a reserve with far too little playing time. I was hoping that when Melo finally moved on, it’d clear the way for Top Floor Terry to be a starter once more. Instead, he’s been passed over in favour of signing a major free agent.
Of course, that’s actually a fairly realistic turn of events given the ongoing narrative. Hanson hasn’t developed too much in the last couple of years, and he’s suffered a couple of major injuries. It makes sense that the team would see him as a valuable member of the roster, but not trust him to play a larger role. Snagging a couple of “name” free agents like DeRozan and Evans is also too big of an opportunity to pass up. To that end, while I’m disappointed that I’m probably not going to be on the court alongside Top Floor Terry as much I’d like, I can appreciate that there’s logic to the scenario. I’m also glad that the team has some fresh faces after three or four seasons.
I can see it making for an interesting ride. The story of Year 7 is basically going to be getting used to the new-look 76ers as we vie for our seventh-consecutive title. The goal of going undefeated in the regular season actually went up in smoke in the third game of the year, when the Milwaukee Bucks with their star backcourt duo of Tracy Brock and Pat Clemons took advantage of a lackadaisical effort to embarrass us at home. It certainly takes the pressure off, and avoids the heartbreak of “so close, but yet so far” that came in Year 6 when the Memphis Grizzlies snapped our 65-game winning streak. At the same time, it’s a bummer to lose that opportunity so early on.
As I said, even if some beats are the same – domination during the regular season, big stats, another title in June – every year in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER has felt different in some way. The prospect of having to learn how to play with DeRozan and Evans most effectively and continue to create highlights while orchestrating the offense offers a fresh challenge. DeRozan also suffered a major knee injury a couple of years ago, so it remains to be seen whether he can stay healthy. If not, we might be calling upon Hanson more than anticipated, which I would enjoy! The same goes for Evans. If he goes down unexpectedly, then Top Floor Terry will presumably be the next man up.
Then again, maybe Thibs will run a small ball lineup as Johnny Davis did, bringing MCW back into the starting lineup. Hanson would probably become the sixth man in that scenario, though it’s still not ideal. As it stands, we’ve lost some depth and talent up front and in the middle, so an injury to Thaddeus Young or J.J. Hickson would really leave us short-handed. Speaking of Young, it’s cool to still have him on the team, since he was one of my MyPLAYER’s mentors and biggest supporters in the story cutscenes during Year 1. With all the titles we’ve won with him as the starting power forward, it only feels right that he’s seemingly poised to be a Sixer for life.
There’s also the matter of my numbers. Through the three games that I’ve already played in Year 7 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, I haven’t been as aggressive on offense, instead deferring to newcomers DeRozan and Evans. If that works out for us and proves to be fun, I may not lead the league in scoring this year. If it doesn’t, or if one or both of them end up missing significant time, it might turn into a “Wilt in ’62” or “MJ in ’87” situation, as it did during a short-handed stretch in 2018. Last season was the first since my rookie year that I didn’t average a triple-double, though old habits did mean that I ended up still being very close to doing so; just 0.3 rpg short.
I’ll undoubtedly have plenty of subplots and challenges to keep Year 7 of my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER fresh and interesting as I play every game on 12-minute quarters. On top of that, it’s the season where I’ll finally reach the current decade. The 2010s certainly went down very differently to reality thanks to my intervention, and if I have my way, the parity we’ve seen in the 2020s probably won’t happen either! Instead, it’ll be fun to see when certain players retire, particularly LeBron James. Kobe Bryant – who LeBron actually teamed up with in this alternate reality – stuck around for two additional seasons, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see other stars enjoy longer careers.
In a similar vein, I’ve started wondering whether I’ll reach a point where the lack of real players will start detracting from my enjoyment. So far it’s been fun to see the generated rookies become stars and key contributors, and obviously Terry Hanson has become a special part of the journey for me. However, I could also see it being more difficult to remain engaged with the matchups on the floor when fewer and fewer of them involve real players; especially if some of the noteworthy names that are still around in 2026 call it a day much earlier in my game. I think that a league full of fictional players could be fun, but I’ll still miss the real players once they’re gone.
My fondest hope for Year 7 in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER is that I can finally face a top team in the NBA Finals. Strangely, every year so far, the West has seen an underdog Conference Champion. Top contenders have often been upset in the first round, but even if they make it through, it seems they’re destined to fall to a dark horse team. As Dee noted when I mentioned this on the NLSC Podcast, the consistency of the results suggests that it’s by design, which is an undeniably weird choice! I’m also hoping to avoid yet another Playoff clash with Jackson Ellis and the Pistons. While I do enjoy Ellis as a subplot, the cutscenes are repetitive, not to mention stuck in the first season.
With that being said, I’m looking forward to picking up my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER again and playing through Year 7. It’s been a refreshing break, and while I’ll continue to play other games and modes, it feels like it’s time to continue the journey. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to catch up to the present day without simulating – which I don’t really want to do – and part of me wants to get to the Hall of Fame induction before some extremely unlucky tragedy befalls the save file. For now though, I’m just going to enjoy the ride as I play into a new decade. It’ll be fun to be able to say that I’m playing through the 2020s in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, in the 2020s themselves!
