Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of the five best additions to NBA MyCAREER.

These days, it’s not fashionable to play NBA MyCAREER. It’s usually seen as a means to an end; a way of familiarising yourself with the mechanics, and grinding for VC and Badge XP to level up your player in preparation for the online scene. This is unfortunate, as MyCAREER once provided an extremely enjoyable alternative to franchise play, placing gamers in the shoes of an aspiring NBA player. Sure, the story-driven approach has been hit and miss, but some of the better tales were well-told, with impressive production values and fun mini-games.

Those aspects are still there as of NBA 2K23, though there’s been a detrimental shift in focus. The downfall began last generation, and swiftly progressed following the introduction of The Neighborhood and later The City. Still, NBA MyCAREER does remain a fairly robust mode; at least until the servers are shut down and it disappears forever! Reflecting on the history of NBA MyCAREER and the days when it was more than just a legacy mode that most use as a stepping stone to the online scene, there have been some great additions that benefitted the traditional career experience. Having played the mode extensively over the years, I’m picking these as the five best.

1. MyCOURT

Yes, really! As I’ve said before, I was cynical when MyCOURT was announced for NBA 2K15. It sounded like another gimmick, or at best an overhyped return of the personal practice court that had been available on the previous generation. Looking back, I was downplaying the importance of bringing back a useful feature, and a key aspect of sports games: personalisation. As much as I’ve had an absolute blast going back and playing through multiple seasons in NBA 2K14 PS4’s MyCAREER, I do miss being able to shoot around whenever I want on my own practice court. Whether I want to test an animation, practice a move, or just kill some time, I notice its absence.

I’ll also admit to missing the customisation and personalisation aspect of MyCOURT. I have enjoyed decorating my MyCOURT with Chicago Bulls trappings, and making it a virtual home. Unlocking mini-basketball among other decorations and interactive elements was also fun. There have been some pretty creative designs over the years as well. As much as I feel the whole cruise ship approach in NBA 2K22 and NBA 2K23 Current Gen is “extra”, the “personal court in a luxury cabin” is a fun aesthetic. It also means that the Cancha del Mar and GOAT Boat are utilising some TARDIS tech! Implausible dimensions aside, MyCOURT remains my favourite MyCAREER hub.

2. Jersey Selection

The ability to select jerseys before a game is easy to take for granted if you’ve only played more recent iterations of MyCAREER, or if you’re familiar with that basic functionality from franchise and exhibition play. Choosing which jerseys the team wears has been a standard feature in Play Now and franchise modes since the early 2000s, and an unlockable ability in the levelling-up/reward system of MyCAREER since the mid 2010s. It was a welcome addition to NBA MyCAREER, as we were no longer stuck with the primary home and road uniforms, with only a Sunday alternate – – such as the Lakers’ white jersey – being worn automatically by a handful of teams.

Again, this has been a pet peeve in what has otherwise been a fantastic time playing MyCAREER in NBA 2K14 PS4. Until you’ve played hundreds of games without the ability to wear an alternate uniform or stage your own Hardwood Classics nights, you don’t realise how much you miss a basic function like pre-game jersey selection! It’s also ironic as one of my pet peeves with the real NBA in recent years is that teams seem to wear special jerseys too often and their traditional uniforms too infrequently. However, I do appreciate keeping things fresh with alternate jerseys, and when I go back and play an old game, I’ll often select one of the secondary or retro uniforms.

3. Increased Control & Influence

One of the reasons I was drawn to NBA MyCAREER after years of being a franchise gamer is that it was such a change of pace as far as what I had control over. A major part of the experience – and indeed challenge of the mode – is only having control over your avatar, and being at the mercy of the AI as far as your teammate’s performance, the coach’s rotation and gameplan, and the GM’s ability to construct a roster. These are important restrictions, otherwise you may as well just be playing franchise mode with player lock (which is of course a valid alternative). The point is that since you’re role-playing as an NBA player, you shouldn’t have access to coach and GM functions.

At the same time, star players do have influence over team decisions, and a complete lack of control in career play isn’t necessarily desirable. One of the best additions to NBA MyCAREER was the ability to unlock control and/or influence over your team’s roster. This included “suggesting” lineup changes through the unlocked rotation menu (which in my experience, always went into effect), and indicating players that you’d like the team to trade for and pursue in free agency. Not only does this add a failsafe if the AI is getting in the way of fun when left to its own devices with roster building, but it adds depth by allowing you to role-play as a star throwing your weight around.

4. Team Selection Opportunities

In a similar vein, I’ve appreciated how certain iterations of NBA MyCAREER have given us more control over our destiny. That’s not to say that taking the choice out of our hands is a bad idea. It’s obviously an authentic representation of what it’s like to be drafted, and it can set up scenarios that are more fun and interesting than just going to your favourite team. With that being said, there’s great appeal in being able to decide your destiny right out of the gate, and play for the team that you want. In a mode where you don’t always have much control and the story is often on rails, it’s nice to at least be able to influence – if not outright choose – where you want to be.

This also applies to free agency if you end up playing more than one season. It was interesting to be locked into a four-year rookie contract in NBA 2K14 PS4, but also frustrating. In fact, experiencing that has led me to reconsider my stance on player and team loyalty in real life! That authenticity comes with the price of foregoing the level of choice we often like to have in video games, so I do believe that it was a sensible change to have your MyPLAYER be a free agent at the end of their rookie season in newer NBA 2K titles. With games becoming increasingly disposable, there’s value in speedrunning free agency and other aspects of the NBA journey within MyCAREER.

5. Presentation When Breaking NBA & Team Records

NBA 2K has been doing an admirable job of tracking stats, awards, and records in both its franchise and career modes for a long time now. It’s been significantly better in recent releases though, especially when it comes to the in-game presentation. I’ve broken a few records five seasons into my NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, but when the Walking With Legends overlays pop up, they don’t recognise those new marks. It’s a little distracting, and it doesn’t help that due to a bug, the all-time records listings are only available when there’s a relevant headline up on the in-game NBA.com. New records are acknowledged by the Dynamic Goals, bur otherwise they feel quite static.

Going back to NBA 2K14 MyCAREER after playing the mode in newer games, I can appreciate the improvements. On top of acknowledging record-breaking performances and providing readily-accessible records screens, any overlays that mention team and league records are updated accordingly. In other words, if you’re constantly re-writing the record book with single game assist numbers, the stats overlays will reflect that. Also, while it’s predictable that every broken record results in a timeout so that you can get an ovation from the crowd while it’s displayed on the scoreboard, it makes the moment feel far more special compared to the subdued celebration in older games.

What are some of your favourite additions to NBA MyCAREER over the years? Do you still enjoy the single player experience, or have you gravitated towards the online modes? Let me know in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.