With NBA 2K21, you just know what you're getting into--a basketball simulation together with the presentation chops, star power, and gameplay mechanics to 2K21 MT embody the game on a professional and cultural level. You know you'll build a custom player to experience a narrative that contributes to a complete career and take to the streets and rec center for pick up games. You know you can play a management sim through MyGM or build a working fantasy team via card packs in MyTeam. And you also understand all too well about the scheme of VC that looms over it all, which remains one of the prominent offenders of intrusive microtransactions.
At this point, NBA 2K21 implies that the franchise is outside of surprises. It has a strong suite of modes, but despite small remixing year in, year out, the annual releases are beginning to mix together (if they haven't already). Mechanics get minor tweaks or enhancements, but mostly remain untouched. Therefore, for those embedded in the 2K cycle, you know what the deal is, but since this year's game changes things mostly on a surface level, it's difficult to be excited about yet another entry.
And that doesn't just come in the player likenesses, character development tools, or the broadcast-style presentation; it's a matter of the heart gameplay, also. Dribble goes with the ideal pole offer nearly full control of ball handling. It can feel somewhat cluttered having so many activities mapped to slightly different moves on just one rod, as errant inputs can sometimes have you pull a pump-fake instead of the crossover you intended. However, in case you can master a few key moves, you are going to be at an advantage for chances to drive to the basket or mitigate shot contesting. The same holds for making the right moves in the post-game to either get beneath defenders or get positioning over them. All these have been staples of NBA 2K for quite a while.
The big new addition concerning offense is the discretionary Pro Stick shooting. Ahead of 2K21, shooting would be carried out by holding Square, X, or the right stick and time your release in the height of your jump, indicated by a shot meter overhead. With Pro Stick shooting enabled, you hold the ideal stick down without having to Cheap NBA 2K21 MT worry about release time and instead concentrate on accurate stick alignment according to the shot meter prior to your player releases the shooter. While it's much simpler to just use square or X for scoring in the paint, Pro Stick is a viable new alternate for jump shots, especially in scenarios when lag or latency may throw away traditional-style launch time.