With the release of NBA 2K26, millions of fans are getting ready to jump onto the virtual court and live the dream of playing as their favorite NBA or WNBA stars. But it’s not just fans who enjoy the game-rising stars like Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey and Paige Bueckers also use it as a tool to improve their game reading and better understand teammates and opponents.
All three players grew up with the franchise and say NBA 2K was key to their development. For them, seeing themselves in the game for the first time was not only exciting, but a personal milestone.
NBA 2K as part of their basketball education
Maxey sums it up like this: “I grew up playing 2K with legends like Allen Iverson, and now I’m not only in the game, but I also share a team with players I used to play with on the console. It’s surreal.”
Bueckers, for her part, highlights how meaningful it is to be represented in an industry where the WNBA only appeared in 2019: “Representation matters. I played 2K with my brothers as a kid, and now boys can choose players like me. That inspires the next generation.”
How the video game boosts their basketball IQ
Beyond entertainment, NBA 2K has become a learning resource. All three agree that playing helps them:
- Anticipate plays and trends
- Recognize opponents’ attributes and strengths
- Simulate how they’d fit with future teammates
Bueckers explains: “You’re always a student of the game. Watching and playing 2K increased my on-court intelligence-it taught me to think two steps ahead.”
Haliburton even uses MyGM mode to experiment with lineups and trades, evaluating how hypothetical additions would fit into his Indiana Pacers.
Maxey talks about NBA 2K
It’s not uncommon for players to use 2K as a simulator. Maxey recalls analyzing how his lineup would look when the 76ers acquired James Harden: “I wondered how Joel, Tobias, James and I would fit in the same lineup. The game gave me an idea of how explosive that group could be.”
Haliburton, currently rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury, plans to keep using the video game to stay focused on basketball and explore strategic scenarios during recovery.
Haliburton and Bueckers create alternate versions of themselves
Of course, it’s not all about studying. All three admit that sometimes they just want to relax and play for fun. Maxey prefers racking up points with his own avatar, while Haliburton and Bueckers create alternate versions of themselves-exploring what it would be like to be over two meters tall or play with different skills than they have in real life.
Ultimately, NBA 2K doesn’t just entertain this new generation of stars-it also gives them a competitive edge. Through simulations, dream lineups and a touch of fun, Haliburton, Maxey and Bueckers show that basketball can be learned and lived through a console too.
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