NBA 2K21 Review: 4 Ups & 4 Downs
3. MyCAREER's Human Touch
MyCAREER is best known for tacking cornball storylines and characters onto a rags-to-riches basketball yarn that doesn't necessarily need the extra baggage. These are often entertaining in a Sharknado kind of way, though guff like "Frequency Vibrations" opens the franchise to mockery, despite the game mode's structured, rewarding appeal.
While 2K21's MyCAREER isn't exactly a Coppola-penned masterpiece, it is the most engrossing version we've had in several years. This comes primarily through exploring your character Junior's relationship with his father, an esteemed former player whose shadow looms large. 2K21 does a solid job of capturing such pressures as you navigate one of ten separate college programs to the NBA Combine, the league itself, and beyond, with television actors like The Wire's Michael K. Williams brought in for an extra layer of gloss.
Those weary of the MyCAREER format probably won't be pulled back in, though there's plenty for everyone else to chew on here.