The Online Shooting Showdown

The developers took on the impossible challenge of balancing online play, and unfortunately, the shooting system is the first place where things feel…off.

The Skill-Gap Trap

In a move to make things purely skill-based, the shooting system now has zero room for chance or variability. On paper, that sounds great, right? Your skill dictates the shot. What’s the problem?

It’s One-Dimensional: You either nail the timing for the perfect ‘green,’ or you brick the shot. There’s no natural flow or element of luck involved, which makes the game predictable.
The Player Divide: This system creates a massive gap. The casual player struggles to shoot at all, while the seasoned veteran who’s mastered the animation timing is hitting 70% or 80% of their threes.
A Timing Fest: When both teams are lights-out from deep, the game stops feeling like basketball and becomes a boring, non-stop “green timing” mini-game.

The solution? We need a small touch of unpredictability back. Reward skill, sure, but don’t turn every online match into an identical, clockwork three-point contest.

The Bot Brain-Fails (Computer AI)

For the “simulation nerds” and single-player fanatics out there, the computer logic this year is genuinely maddening. It seems simple things are constantly tripping up the CPU, making solo matches dull and repetitive.

The Three Major Logic Issues

The computer-controlled teams are making decisions that simply don’t reflect modern (or any) basketball, and these patterns repeat in every single match the longer you play:

When Layups Are Too Scary: You’ll watch a perfectly executed cut to the basket—wide open, no defender in sight—and instead of taking the free, uncontested layup or dunk, the AI kicks it out to the corner for a three-pointer. It’s broken logic. Guys, you had a free bucket! Don’t be that guy.
The Five-Out Epidemic: It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a classic bully-ball team or a modern-day contender; every single computer offense looks exactly the same. They all run a full-time, floor-spacing five-out attack, making every opponent feel identical and completely killing the immersion.
Post-Player Pile-Ons: Trying to dominate in the post with your superstar? Good luck. The double-team starts the instant your player touches the ball. It’s not about waiting for a move; it’s an immediate, aggressive trap from the jump. This robotic defense makes playing with post-superstars incredibly predictable and boring since you know a pass-out is the only viable move.

Offline Needs Love, Too

It’s clear that the single-player experience isn’t the priority for the developers (cough, microtransactions, cough), but there’s a huge community that buys this game just for the offline grind.

Why We Need a MyERA Upgrade

The MyERA mode is genuinely a diamond in the rough—a historical masterpiece that essentially serves as basketball history in video game form. Yet, it’s being allowed to collect dust.

If the developers just focused on a few quality-of-life updates, this mode could be legendary:

Choose Your Starting Year: Why are we locked into predefined eras? The tools and draft classes dating back decades already exist. Give players the freedom to start exactly when they want to start a classic rebuild.
Polished Historical Accuracy: We need more real player faces, more complete rosters, and a total overhaul of the trade logic in the sim mode. Seeing completely wild, unrealistic trades and stat lines drains the fun out of long-term seasons.

The developers have all the tools and data needed to polish this mode into the undisputed best single-player experience in sports gaming, but the attention just isn’t there.

The Final Takeaway

This game is far from bad. It’s actually really solid when the fundamental designs click. But right now, it feels like a troubled game—one with so much potential buried under design decisions that just make you shake your head. Fix the predictable shooting, update the baffling computer AI, and give the spectacular offline modes the attention they deserve, and this could be one of the best basketball games of all time. Until then, it’s a total love-hate relationship.