NBA 2K

Each installment in the NBA 2K series emulates the National Basketball Association, and present slight improvements over the previous installments. As such, gameplay simulates a typical game of basketball, with the player controlling an entire team or a select player; objectives coincide with the rules of basketball and presentation resembles actual televised NBA games. Various game modes have been featured in the series, allowing for gameplay variety. Numerous elements of the games feature customizable options.

Each game features the teams and players from the current NBA season; historic NBA teams and players have also been featured, as have EuroLeague teams and (starting with NBA 2K20) WNBA teams. NBA 2K21 expanded WNBA integration with The W, a dedicated career mode allowing players to create a WNBA My PLAYER and compete across all 12 teams. Fictional players and teams can also be created and compiled.

The NBA 2K series has achieved consistent critical and commercial success. Elements of the series that are frequently praised include its presentation, specifically its commentary, attention to detail, and soundtrack, its abundance of content, its overall gameplay, and its consistency in terms of yearly releases without any drastic dips in quality. In recent years, the series has been seen by some critics as superior to other basketball games, specifically in comparison with EA Sports' NBA Live series.

Conversely, later installments have been criticized for their technical issues, particularly in regards to the online components; the introduction of microtransactions; and the quality of some of the more story-focused incarnations of the MyCareer mode. The series has also been criticized for the lack of innovations in several installments.