2K Sports is in the final sprint of promoting the next NBA 2K, which will be released on September 9. The month of August will, as usual, allow the sauce to rise with the presentation of the main novelties and specificities of the different game modes, supporting clips, without forgetting the revelations of player ratings drop by drop, for a moment during which NBA2K knows how to capture attention.
To attack this last straight line, it was Mike Wang, developer of Visual Concepts who presented the contours of the new NBA2K23 Gameplay.
Emphasis on “Showtime”
The demonstration was rich in lessons, with the guiding principle of the desire to present an overall improvement, both in the offensive and defensive aspects, the evolution of the AI, and the wide choice of options for the player, from the definition from his MyPlayer to the new palettes of counters, dunks or double-steps.
To start with a fun aspect, it will be possible to simply hang on to the circle and stay there after a dunk. As long as you hold down the trigger, your player will remain suspended in the circle, with the possibility via the sticks to move or climb to the circle. The ultimate provocation on a City playground, the technical fault almost guaranteed in an NBA match…
To stay on the attack, many improvements are announced. On the shot, the handling of the ball, double-steps, reworked counters. On the drives, the power of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James, able to go into bulldozer mode by pushing down their opponents, would be felt more.
New double step packs have been added for different players like Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Allen Iverson, Magic Johnson, Nikola Jokic, Zach LaVine, Ja Morant, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
More features to define the shot
On the personality of the player profiles used for MyPlayer mode, there are even more options, with an emphasis on shooting characteristics.
The observation started from the specificity of the shot of a player like Luka Doncic, His execution is not extraordinarily fast, the ball is released quite high, in perfect timing. As many characteristics as it will now be possible to modify (the speed of execution, the height of release, the impact of the timing).
Still in terms of shooting, 5 new gauges are offered and 15 are unlockable over the seasons. New shooting arcs are also included to indicate the correct trajectory (high, flat, or ideal). Gone, however, are the early celebrations with the outside shots showing in green before they even hit the net on a perfect execution. The suspense will now keep everyone in suspense until the impact of the ball on the circle.
The defense has not been forgotten, with among the main innovations announced a new indicator to better assess and anticipate the opponent’s lateral movements. The counter moves have also been reworked. It’s also the end of blocks from behind small on two-handed dunks. The operation aims to encourage the spectacle, with “tomahawk” at will.
The “little ones” will not be left out, however, since 2K Sports promises tons of new content in terms of interceptions, based on the liveliness of small builds and faster gestures.
A final quick word on the AI which has also been touted as more…smarter. With a better interpretation of situations in attack, a more assured retreat, and a tighter “pick-and-roll” defense.
