When a basketball player gets into “the zone,” people say it can feel like time slows to crawl. They can see things before they happen, every little detail about their opponent stands out, and the rim seems to get bigger and more inviting. Nba 2k22 Mt never quite managed to get me all the way into the zone, but the improved gameplay and breadth of content of this iteration get it closer than it’s been for the past few years. From important changes to how stamina impacts shooting to a City filled with diverse ways to improve your MyPlayer character, 2K22 feels like a breath of fresh air compared to 2K21.

NBA 2K22 has made some important tweaks to the on-court action that help make it play like a more realistic game, most noticeably how it handles stamina loss while dribbling. In 2K21, it was easy to run at a defender on the perimeter, hit a Curry slide, and drain a three without breaking a sweat. Against the CPU, that tactic was almost undefendable, especially in MyTeam where player cards were quickly made ridiculously overpowered. With 2K22, you can still employ tactics like that, but the stamina loss you suffer from sprinting and doing dribble moves is made much more significant to balance out its effectiveness.

As your player gets more tired their shot meter will shrink, making it tougher to hit shots. That leads to a game that initially seems slow compared to 2K21 – but if you play under more control and don’t just hold that sprint button, you’ll actually have an easier time putting the ball into the bucket because of your larger shot meter. It may not seem like an important change at first, but it leads to a playstyle that feels closer to real life than 2K21 ever did.

Fatigue leads to a playstyle that feels closer to real life than 2K21 ever did.

“

Without three hunting and rim running, you’re forced to play team basketball. The pick and roll is your best friend, especially offline. Learning how and when to use your dribble skills and speed to get past defenders off of a pick will make all the difference. Or, if you’d rather do damage as a big man in the paint, use the pick and roll to force a switch and go to work against the smaller defender. These tactics are a little overpowered at times, but they’re countered by improvements on the defensive side of the ball.

Additionally, Visual Concepts has completely redone its systems for contesting shots and blocking. Not only does this mean snazzy new snatch blocks and volleyball spikes, but I felt like a true rim protector when roaming the paint. Like the pick and roll, it can start to feel like you have too much power; however, the offense is much more likely to drain open jumpers, meaning you can’t just sag off and rely on a late contest. Steals have also been improved with new animations based on your player’s steal rating, so trying to swipe the ball with a low-rated player is sluggish, while guys like Jimmy Butler and Matisse Thybulle will rip the ball with authority.