NBA 2K14 is the annual basketball simulation by 2K Sports. LeBron on cover, most realistic gameplay at the time. The reference basketball franchise on console, fluid gameplay and generous content.
Your verdict
Category
Sports4 players3+
Description
Visual Concepts official NBA basketball simulation recreating the NBA 14 season with licensed players and teams. Published by 2K Sports, released in the USA in October 2013. All licensed NBA teams, narrative MyCareer mode, MyGM franchise mode, precise analog stick controls, and online multiplayer. Console basketball reference.
NBA 2K14 review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Players modelled with stunning realism, sweat, arena light and broadcast atmosphere: basketball takes on the air of a televised game. The fluidity of the movements and the care for the smallest detail reinforce an almost tangible presence. This visual realism, polished and precise, places the game among the peaks of sports.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Basketball in all its fidelity: official teams, stars reproduced down to the detail and gameplay of remarkable depth that rewards game sense. Pulling off a team play and finishing with a spectacular dunk delivers an instant joy. Realistic, deep and superbly made, a complete basketball sim that offers intense matches, whether solo or among friends.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Building your player's career or your card-based team, playing a match, then coming back to improve your stats kicks off a loop where there's always a next tier to reach. Progressing and collecting reward every fixture. The microtransactions of its flagship modes call for caution, but the finesse of the simulation and the breadth of the modes hold you for the long haul.
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Embodying a scripted career in MyCareer and then running a whole franchise in My GM fills a basketball fan's calendar with dozens of hours. Online play and the drive to progress keep the flame alive well beyond. This richness of simulation, true to the NBA, founds a longevity lastingly praised.
The 2014 entry of Visual Concepts' basketball, the last major vintage of the series on PS3 as the franchise shifted to the new generation, with LeBron James as figurehead. Its collector interest stays low: a dated, abundant annual entry, mainly of note as one of the last of the PS3 era. A nostalgia piece for fans of virtual basketball from that period.
Better with friends
Basketball of remarkable fluidity, cut out for four-player evenings where you swing the ball around and chase the buzzer-beating bucket. The competition lives on tempo, spectacular blocks and trash talk after a well-earned dunk, in a rivalry as technical as it is convivial. Easy to fire up for a quick game, it turns every matchup into a pride duel and a memory machine.
Is NBA 2K14 still worth playing in 2026?
NBA 2K14 makes its mark on PS3 with gameplay among the most realistic of its generation, LeBron James at the forefront. The fluidity of movement, the rightness of the animations and the intelligence of the opponents reinforce a simulation already recognised as the basketball benchmark on console. The TV-broadcast-worthy presentation and the generous content sustain the immersion. Like any annual entry, its online side has gone dark and its roster stays frozen on the relevant season. But in solo, for the basketball fan, the title remains an excellent simulation, faithful and demanding, still pleasant to play today.
