How NBA 2K needs to fix MyNBA/MyLeague and the issues in 2K25

MyNBA/MyLEAGUE has been a game mode in NBA 2K for years. Some people play it a lot, others don’t. But for those who do, most can admit that there are clear issues holding the mode back—many of which are simple fixes.

Here are some things 2K needs to do for NBA 2K26 to make MyNBA a much more enjoyable and playable experience.

The Expansion Draft

The process of adding an expansion team is solid, but the expansion draft itself is incredibly unrealistic.

Here’s an example: I added two teams to MyLEAGUE. The first team got players like Pascal Siakam and Immanuel Quickley—two guys who would 100% be protected in a real expansion draft. Other questionable additions included Mitchell Robinson, CJ McCollum, and Tobias Harris.

The second team was worse. It wasn’t that the players were all bad, it’s that the ones available made the entire process look pathetic. Brandon Miller and OG Anunoby were somehow left unprotected. There’s zero chance that would happen. Other names like Kyle Filipowski, Aaron Wiggins, and Jonas Valanciunas also shouldn’t be there.

The way 2K determines the “top 8 protected players” clearly needs a complete overhaul. It’s just not realistic right now.

Free Agency

Free agency has been a problem in MyNBA for years, and 2K continues to ignore it. Here are the major issues:

Star Players

If you have cap space, you can pretty much sign whoever you want. For example, LeBron James had 14 offers. I gave him one, and he accepted. That might sound cool, but it’s way too easy—and completely unrealistic.

Qualifying Offers

Before free agency starts, you can offer a one-year qualifying offer to players about to become restricted free agents. The problem? In real life, if you don’t offer it, they become unrestricted. In 2K, even if you don’t offer the QO, they remain restricted and can still accept the offer after free agency ends. It’s a glitch 2K has ignored for too long.

Lower-Level Free Agents

When you’re filling out your roster with minimum-contract guys, it should be easy. But it isn’t. For example, Kai Jones—who’s been bouncing between teams on minimum deals—is demanding $15.1 million. Yes, there are sliders to help fix this, but why isn’t it right from the start?

In-Season Free Agents

After simming the 2025 offseason in a random league, the free agent pool was full of solid players—Ty Jerome, John Collins, Bobby Portis Jr., and more—all unsigned. It’s completely unrealistic and ruins immersion. This issue has to be addressed in 2K26.

Restricted Free Agents

Qualifying offers aren’t the only problem. Even re-signing RFAs is broken. In real life, their original team can match any offer. For example, in 2022, Deandre Ayton accepted a 4-year, $133 million deal from the Pacers, but the Suns matched it, so he stayed.

In 2K, I gave Dalen Terry and E.J. Liddell qualifying offers, but free agency said they weren’t interested in negotiating. I was never given the chance to match any offer or sign them again. That’s not how it works in real life, and it becomes frustrating when you lose a young player for nothing.

Player Retirements

This is personally one of the most frustrating parts of MyNBA.

Players retire way too early—even when they’re still productive. In one simmed offseason (2025), the retirements included LeBron James, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Al Horford, and more. While they are older, most of them have not publicly hinted at retiring. Some are even signing new deals in real life.

Then you see someone like Klay Thompson on the list. He just signed a multi-year deal, is 35, and still playing great basketball. Why would he suddenly retire?

Even worse, tons of unsigned players also retire after just one year of not being on a team. That’s not how the real NBA works. The only workaround is overriding their retirement—but that only lasts one year. So if I override Klay’s retirement, he’ll just retire the next season anyway.

This issue is completely out of hand and needs serious attention.

Staff Signing

This isn’t the biggest issue in the mode, but it definitely needs a revamp.

You can’t even pick your own assistant coaches anymore—they’re just listed as “bonus staff.” That change was unnecessary and makes hiring staff less fun and less realistic.

Hiring a head coach is also frustrating. There are limited options, and many realistic hires are blocked. I tried to hire James Borrego—a former head coach and current Pelicans assistant—but the game wouldn’t allow it. In today’s NBA, 99% of assistants would take a head coaching job if offered.

2K also fails to include a ton of real-life former head coaches who are currently unemployed, like Frank Vogel, Mike Brown, or Michael Malone. Unless a former coach is an assistant in the game, they just aren’t there. And even if they are assistants, the game often blocks you from hiring them.

Player Progression

Player progression in MyNBA needs serious tuning.

• Veterans regress way too fast and way too drastically.

• 2K-created draft classes are consistently terrible, with very few high-end prospects.

• Community draft classes (like the ones by jackmove916 or Jotakelmer) are better, but even those sometimes have players making All-NBA in their rookie year.

• Late first-rounders and second-rounders almost never grow above a 75 overall. In real life, some late picks become stars. That never happens in 2K. It would be cool if a second-rounder could occasionally hit 80–85 overall after a few seasons.

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Trading

Trading isn’t the worst part of MyNBA, but it still has its issues:

• CPU trades way too much. After simming one season, half the rosters are unrecognizable. Yes, there are sliders, but it should be better out of the box.

• Only six trade slots. That’s just not enough. The Kevin Durant trade alone had more than six assets. We need unlimited trade slots.

• Trading for star players is almost impossible, no matter what assets you include. The limited trade slots make it worse.

• Sign-and-trade deals don’t exist. You can’t sign a player and immediately trade them—whether it’s a restricted free agent or your own player. 2K makes you wait 60 days, which ruins the realism of offseason movement.

Salary Cap

The NBA’s salary cap rules are complicated, and no one expects 2K to get everything perfect. But they need to do better.

For example, there are no real consequences for hitting the second apron. There should be real penalties—like losing trade exceptions and limiting draft flexibility. 2K is the official NBA game. It’s time they start acting like it by replicating the league’s rules more accurately.

Championship Celebration

This one’s just silly.

Winning a championship in 2K feels hollow. The on-court celebration is underwhelming, and nowhere near as lively as a real NBA title win. Where’s the energy? Where’s the crowd?

Also, what happened to the championship parade that was in NBA 2K20 for MyCAREER? It would be awesome to bring that back—and even better to add it into MyNBA if your team wins a title.

Awards

The awards system isn’t awful, but there are problems.

• The MVP is usually one of four players: SGA, Victor Wembanyama, Jokic, or Luka. There’s barely any variety.

• Coach of the Year always goes to the No. 1 seed’s coach. Why not give it to someone who led a 25-win team to a top-4 seed the next year? Make the award system reflect actual improvement, not just records.

Tracking Stats Over Time

Madden and EA College Football track stats year after year. Why can’t 2K?

If you go 10+ seasons deep into a MyNBA save, you should be able to look back at historical stats, championships, wins, awards, and more. This would add a ton of depth and immersion—and it’s something that should’ve been in the game years ago.

Final Thoughts

These are the major issues holding MyNBA back in NBA 2K25. Year after year, the same problems show up—and 2K seems more focused on giving Michael Stauffer a five-star head coaching card than fixing the actual mode.

With EA College Basketball coming out in 2028, 2K needs to wake up. If they don’t overhaul and restore MyNBA to what it used to be, they’ll fall behind fast in the basketball gaming world.

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Eli Saari