Along with the current season's teams and players, previous games in the series have featured NBA teams from past eras, such as the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls and the 1985–86 Boston Celtics. NBA 2K18 adds seventeen more such teams, including the 2007–08 Denver Nuggets and the 1998–99 New York Knicks, as well as 'All-Time Teams', teams for each franchise consisting of the greatest players in the respective franchise's history.
A staple of the series, MyCareer, returns as one of the available game modes. MyCareer is a career mode in which the player creates their own customizable basketball player and plays through their basketball career. The mode features a storyline which plays out as the player competes in games as well as off-court activities. The creation tools have been overhauled – new hairstyles and body archetypes are available for the player to make use of, among other things.
The game's returning MyGM and MyLeague game modes, which task the player with managing all basketball operations for a specific team, were a point of emphasis during development. MyGM is more focused on realism, whereas MyLeague offers more customization options. MyGM mode attempts to introduce more cutscene-style interactions than previous games in an attempt to give the mode a storyline, which is dubbed 'The Next Chapter', similar to the series' MyCareer mode. Additionally, several additions have been made to the mode which caters to the NBA's latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the NBA G League, the NBA's official minor league basketball organization, is present.
NBA 2K18 again, for the sixth time in the series, features MyTeam mode, a mode based around the idea of building the ultimate basketball team, and maintaining a virtual trading card collection. Players assemble and play with their team in basketball tournament-style competitions against other players' teams in several different formats. Assets for a team are acquired through various means, including randomized card packs and the auction house. Virtual Currency (VC) is used extensively in the mode.
The game introduces a new feature to the series, Neighborhoods, which tie into the game's MyCareer, MyPark, and ProAm game modes. In addition to allowing access to the aforementioned modes, Neighborhoods feature an open world design which players can explore while interacting with other players. Several activities can be completed to raise attributes and the player can purchase items. The 2K Sports Pre-game show returned with hosts Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny "The Jet" Smith. While the in-game main commentators are Kevin Harlan and Greg Anthony with additional voices of Doris Burke, Clark Kellogg, Steve Smith, Chris Webber and Brent Barry. The sideline reporter is David Aldridge.
Reception
NBA 2K18 received "generally favorable" reviews for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game, while the Nintendo Switch version received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
In their 8.4/10 review, IGN wrote: "NBA 2K18 impresses by making players behave more like their real-life counterparts than ever before." Game Informer gave it a 9/10, writing, "NBA 2K18 has a few holes in its game – the series needs to improve its writing, the ballyhooed MyCareer Neighborhood hub falls flat, and the tech powering the series is nearing retirement age. That said, boil the game down to its essentials and you have a rock-solid, well-balanced sports sim that provides an immensely entertaining shoulder-to-shoulder same-couch multiplayer experience."
Polygon gave the game 7/10, praising the visuals but criticizing the reliance on microtransactions, saying: "Of course, it's no surprise that NBA 2K18 looks good; the series has looked the part since its advent on the Dreamcast, staying relevant visually and staking out its own part of basketball culture. NBA 2K18 continues the trend, capturing the feel of basketball's urban centers in The Neighborhood. It's too bad, then, that The Neighborhood is covered in ads and persistent microtransaction begging. The growing push to spend real dollars on VC impacts those looking to build even the most basic of player avatars." Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 6.5/10, writing: "Maybe NBA 2K18 has been the king of the court for too long and now it's getting boring. Instead of improving gameplay, it's figuring out more ways to make money through MyCareer and MyTeam. Its new Neighborhood functions as a metaphor for the entire game itself, in that it seems like a big addition to the game but you quickly realize it's pretty much just an empty shopping mall and a distraction from the actual game."
The biggest issue Kotaku brought up was the amount of advertising and time wasted playing the MyCareer. In older games, the MyCareer was spent in your apartment, shooting around and buying shoes from the comfort of your bed. But in NBA 2K18, to perform a simple act such as cutting your hair or changing your shirt, you need to walk a long distance down the street. In a hub where you can meet other players but not interact with them, NBA 2K18's MyCareer mode falls flat compared to previous years. "2K18's chances of telling a good story aren't helped by the two wrong feet it sets off on. Rather than earn your spot in the NBA by playing through a college career, you're told that you're playing as someone who quit basketball to pursue a career as a DJ, and who is able to return to the game—and the NBA itself—by playing a few street games in an amateur tournament." Kotaku also criticised the games exploitative, egregious microtransaction scheme.
Public reception to the game has been much poorer. Since its release, it has held overwhelmingly negative reviews on Steam, with many complaints about the large amount of in-game currency (bought with real-world money) required to play the game to an enjoyable level. Similarly, Metacritic scores from players rather than critics show scores below 2/10 for the Xbox One and PS4 versions.
