ONLINE PLAYOFFS

Legends are made in the playoffs—in NBA 2K26, “The Playoffs” mode can now be played online in MyNBA.

The NBA Finals have a way of ratcheting up the competition and intensifying every possession. Whether you challenge your friends or other players, the increased pressure of this mode will be palpable. As commissioner of each bracket, you will be responsible for selecting and seeding all 16 NBA teams that clinch a spot in the Playoffs. Once that’s complete, you can invite up to 15 friends to participate in a private postseason, or open it up to the public and search for community members to join in. Whether you keep it tight-knit or make it a free-for-all, the addition of The Playoffs online is a fresh way to compete at the highest level.

Online Playoffs will feature the signature presentation of the NBA Playoffs, every aspect of the game will get the full playoff treatment—players, arenas, commentators, you name it will be in postseason mode. These subtle details will heighten the overall atmosphere and elevate the experience to feel more authentic.

Leave No Doubt Edition comes included with virtual currency, MyTEAM content, MyCAREER content, and more!

MyPLAYER DNA

The Player DNA system is expanding in NBA 2K26 with a new MyPLAYER DNA option to copy and paste one MyPLAYER into each roster you create. Using a MyCAREER save file, you can faithfully clone your MyPLAYER’s appearance, animations, attributes, badges, and tendencies in MyNBA with ease. 

This system works in all of the MyNBA Eras, so you can insert your MyPLAYER into any period and see how they measure up against the legends of the game. You can also see how they’d look with retro presentation filters and how their playstyle adapts to the evolution of league rules.

Explore endless possibilities and put the age-old question of whether modern players could handle the physicality of previous eras to the test.

MyNBA DIRECTIVES

Before a new season, you’ll sit down with the team governor to assess your goals and budget for the year. During this conversation, the team governor will assign you primary and secondary directives to influence your strategy for the season. It’s imperative that you meet these directives to keep your job as general manager.

Team governors vary from team to team, some are driven by championships at any cost, while others are focused on the balance sheet and want to ensure the arena is filled and profitability continues. Combined with team-specific offseason scenarios, your experience will change based on the team you’ve selected, keeping challenges fluid and stimulating.

At the end of the season, the team governor will review your directives and goals for the year, and evaluate whether you met expectations. If you do, you’ll be rewarded with a bigger budget that can be used during the offseason to target premier players or renovate your facilities.

Team Finances & Facilities

Managing the team ledger is a necessary part of running a successful franchise. Team finances have been tweaked to be more reflective of each MyNBA era, with accurate team revenue and budgets, luxury tax mechanics, year-to-year salary cap increases, and more throughout league history.

Maintaining a quality product in the NBA is challenging; make it easier on yourself by keeping your facilities up to date to increase player interest in your organization. Upgrade your facilities with Facility Points—earned by winning championships—which can go toward updating Team Training, Team Recovery, Arena, and more:

• Team Training Facilities: Your players will have improved strength, hustle, and potential. Upgraded training facilities can also influence player interest in negotiation; they're less likely to want to play for a team with shabby facilities.
• Team Recovery Facilities: Your players will be more durable, with a reduced chance of injury and faster recovery times. This can also give you a boost in contract negotiations.
• Luxury Box Amenities: Go the extra mile and raise the value of your luxury boxes. These premium seats will get fans in the door, allow you to raise your ticket prices, and ultimately boost profits in the long run.
• Fan Event: Host a fan event that boosts the attendance for a single game by 15%.
• Arena Renovations: A state-of-the-art arena gives a +20% boost to your attendance, which drops by 1% each year as your arena degrades. Renovating will restore the attendance boost to full strength and give you the chance to redesign or rename the arena. However, renovations are a costly, multi-year project and require 15 Facility Points so be sure to plan ahead.

Find success on the court by investing in your franchise’s foundation with upgrades to your facilities and amenities. Garner attention from marquee free agents around the league and show them you’re serious about winning.

NBA 2K26’s immersive MyCAREER prelude story takes players where they’ve never gone before in Out of Bounds. Watch your draft stock rise as you outshine your opponents. But there are now more consequences to your story games and choices. If you don’t complete all the objectives in a game, your agent might not be able to secure the best opportunities for you.

Where Will You Go in the NBA Draft?

This year, your MyPLAYER can go through the Draft process and be drafted based on your performance and how well you fit each team’s positional needs. Let fate run its course to see where you get drafted, or bet on yourself and conduct a private workout for the team you want to control your destiny. Get drafted the traditional way or choose where you want to go—the decision is yours.

Your NBA career starts with the MyPLAYER Builder. Create a player from scratch or lean on pre-made templates and complete your vision. NBA 2K26 features an updated Animation Glossary and all-new Body Type previews.

Animation Glossary

Creating your MyPLAYER can feel like a big decision. There are several variables to consider when building a MyPLAYER from scratch, like which player’s scoring and dribbling animations you’ll be able to use when you’re in the heat of competition. The brand new Animation Glossary in NBA 2K26 is available to help you make more informed decisions when building your MyPLAYER.

When you Create Your Own MyPLAYER from scratch, the new Animation Glossary will list every animation with details, attribute, and height requirements. If you have a specific player you’d like to model your game after, use the Search function to find who you’re looking for; whether you want Stephen Curry’s quick release or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s smooth jumper, it’s easy to see all the requirements you need to meet for their animations.

There are numerous outcomes within the MyPLAYER Builder. This year, each Create Your Own build will sift through dozens of NBA player comparisons before choosing the best animations, associated with the suggested players, and assign them as default animations for a more enjoyable and streamlined experience.

Build By Badges

Attributes lay the foundation for your MyPLAYER, while Badges can enhance and significantly improve your impact on the court. Experienced build makers often begin MyPLAYER creation by ensuring their attributes meet the requirements for certain Badges.

Try experimenting with the new Build via Badges feature in NBA 2K26 to shape the framework of your MyPLAYER. Choose your desired Badges and tiers—Bronze, Silver, Gold, Hall of Fame, and Legend—and the minimum attribute points required will automatically be locked in, meaning you can then spend your remaining attribute points to max out categories of your choosing and reach 99 Potential Overall without missing out on your must-haves.

Body Types

Get a glimpse of your MyPLAYER’s Body Type in NBA 2K26 with all-new visual previews of what you can unlock as you’re making it. Unlock Body Types by completing 3-star Gatorade Gym workouts to give yourself more variety.

Build Templates

Eager to get on the court quickly? Hit the ground running with pre-made builds and expedite your MyPLAYER creation. Choose from three different template types and fine tune it to meet your needs.

1. NBA - Play like your favorite NBA players with NBA templates. These builds come equipped with signature animations that mirror the style and actions of their real-life counterparts. Each Season, a new set of themed NBA templates will be revealed and added to the MyPLAYER Builder library. Season 1 will feature a collection of players who have had multiple NBA All-Star appearances.
2. Community - Starting in Season 2, new templates submitted by some of the best build makers in the NBA 2K community will be added into the mix, showcasing creativity, originality, and competitive playstyles. Stay tuned to learn more about the new submission process and how you can submit your MyPLAYER build for a chance to be featured in NBA 2K26!
3. Pro-Tuned - Designed by the NBA 2K development team at Visual Concepts, select a Position and Best Skill to filter a curated list of builds that suit your preferences. 

NBA 2K26 boasts roughly 10 times the number of archetype names available in NBA 2K25, offering more unique titles that better communicate your MyPLAYER’s strengths.

Scouting Report

The final step of the MyPLAYER Builder in NBA 2K26 is a new Scouting Report feature to help you understand what type of build you’ve made. It displays your best Badges and Attributes, and coaches you on your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you make a point guard with a low Pass Accuracy rating, the Builder will flag this as an area of concern and potential detriment to your teammates.

Height Balancing

The game is growing—literally! The max height for MyPLAYERs in NBA 2K26 is now 7’4”. This decision was made by popular demand; however, the MyPLAYER Builder has been balanced to ensure that all height measurements, short and tall, can be effective against anyone on the court and encourage more build diversity.