2K shows off gameplay improvements in NBA 2K24

It’s that time of year again where new games for the mainstay sports franchises are nearly upon us. Today, 2K began ramping up its marketing cycle with our first look at gameplay for NBA 2K24 alongside a wealth of details on gameplay improvements coming this year on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The biggest and most obvious enhancement is what 2K is calling ProPLAY, a new motion rendering technology that converts real life NBA game footage into what you see on the court in 2K24. There is a direct side-by-side comparison for Kevin Durant in the gameplay trailer below, and I have to say, the early results are impressive. As someone who plays NBA 2K for dozens (if not hundreds) of hours each year, one of my biggest gripes has been the presence of canned or scripted movements and animations in the gameplay. It’s obvious that 2K and developer Visual Concepts' vision is to take what you see on the court in a real NBA game and translate that to what you see on the court in 2K24. Based on this new gameplay, it appears that the technology is finally beginning to make that a reality.

Gameplay Director Mike Wang penned a lengthy post on the NBA 2K24 website detailing a plethora of other gameplay improvements coming this year as well, but here are some of the highlights:

• Intuitive offense: Shooting and dribbling are more accessible and intuitive than ever before, enabling players of all skill levels to flourish on the court. The moves have been customized and improved to serve any difficulty, and the ability to initiate electrifying dribbling sequences will help players create more space for high percentage shots.
• Skill-based defense: Counter moves are big in NBA 2K24. Perimeter and paint defense are both more effective and reward players for anticipating and making good reads.
• Adrenaline Boosts: Redesigned to make both offense and defense more engaging. Elite ball handlers will find more freedom to create while effective defenders can impact shooting abilities by locking ball handlers down.
• Coach with ease: 2K Smart Play is back on New Gen to help players streamline their offense, defense, and coaching to make it easy to call plays. Choose up to 16 preferred actions ranging from full plays to isolations and give-and-gos.
• Takeovers: Takeover returns for New Gen consoles in NBA 2K24 but with a new twist. Fill up the Takeover meter and then choose to activate either your Finishing, Shooting, Playmaking, Physicals, Defense and Rebounding abilities.

You’re going to laugh, but besides the ProPLAY technology, my other most anticipated enhancement is improved in-game substitutions. Long time fans of the franchise will know that the AI in NBA 2K has long been prone to making what I call AAU subs when using automatic subs, where five players come in and five go out. That appears to be long gone, as the AI will now have better situational awareness, and is even able to adjust sub patterns for teams with a sixth man lineup.

I’ve written a lot, but that’s because things are looking and sounding quite good for NBA 2K24. Now let’s see if it can hit nothing but net when it launches on September 8^th.