This is the best sports game of all-time. The graphics (which are important for a sports game) are superb, the best a 2K game has ever looked (except for maybe 2K15), the gameplay feels just on point: arcady enough to be fun but realistic enough to feel like a simulation. The different modes are really fun. MyCareer having a story was a neat distraction at the time, and the whole "off-court life" aspect of the career really added to the experience. The rest of the modes are solid as ever, without anything really different from previous entries.
I love 2k but I only play MyCareer, so when I heard Spike Lee was going to do the story intro I could not have been more hyped. Too bad it sucks ass. Melodramatic trash story that just does not work at all with the ultra-corporate product of a 2k game. Idk who thought the nickname "Frequency Vibrations" was a good idea.