One of the first things many players do when they fire up a new NBA 2K is heard into a practice mode so they can get a feel for the gameplay. Players choose their favorite team and head into Freestyle or Scrimmage mode. In MyCareer though, you had MyCourts.
MyCourts were first introduced in NBA 2K16 after simply giving you a practice gym in previous editions of the game. When MyCourt first came on the scene, I remember that people were sharing images of the custom courts on social media. Then in 2K17, you were able to unlock the beautiful penthouse or wooded-themed MyCourts by connecting with Michael Jordan and Thierry Henry.
From colorful courts to dark forested-type courts, it was a fun way to express your personality away from the hardwood of the NBA or the streets of MyPark. And there’s a good chance a lot of people spent plenty of time in the MyCourt just shooting around or being AFK.
But in recent years on the new consoles, the MC was taken away and players had to settle for the Gatorade Facility, which is fine but it greatly misses that personal touch of what the MC’s had. Plus, in 2K21, it cost VC to rent a court in the Gatorade Facility, and it was on a first-come-first-serve basis. In short, it sucked. Then in the next few games, they let players onto the Gatorade courts for free and they already had the court reserved for you, but once again, you just missed that personal touch.
Now, with NBA 2K25, we finally see the return of a popular feature. They were still available on the old-gen versions of the game, but this is the first we’ll get to see them on current-gen platforms. Seeing the feature with the upgraded graphics will be nice.
Also, we know Seasons are back and, hate them or love them, one cool possibility is that we’ll probably see more MyCourt-based rewards. Getting a cool, exclusive floor or wallpaper would be neat, for example. Or, something like chain nets (please make that happen, 2K).
They also have the ability to use the REP system to have a reward that gives you a brand new MyCourt location like in one of the previous NBA 2Ks. Perhaps it’s a penthouse again, or something totally different and unique like the wooded cabin house.
So bringing back MyCourt opens the door for plenty of cool possibilities and now that we can earn XP through NBA games in MyCareer, that makes things sweeter. It’s going to be interesting to see what those rewards could be.
Also, after building your MyPlayer, you can take him directly to your MyCourt to test him out before finishing your creation. You can freely shoot around your MyCourt during your test. This is a wonderful addition to the game as sometimes you simply want to try jump shots and dribble moves without a defender always breathing down your neck. You can also test animations, which is also another great addition to the MyPlayer building process.
But overall, it’s just great to have the MyCourts back. It allows for creative freedom and to have a court that truly feels like your own.
Colin Mieczkowski has been a writer for Operation Sports for a bit now and loves golf and basketball games. In addition, he's really been bewitched by the Steam Deck and has been looking for any and all ways to play sports games on Steam's portable device. When he's not playing PGA Tour 2K, NBA 2K, or EA Sports PGA Tour, you can find him watching plenty of sports on TV.
