Although it offered many improvements to NBA 2K22 MT gameplay when comparison to its predecessor it was the subject of a lot of criticism from players. Much like with the sequel, its microtransactions left a bad taste on the lips of many people who bought the game. This led to widespread condemnation by players. Kobe Bryant was the cover character of the eleventh installment of the series, it was also the very first installment to be released for the PSP. NBA 2K10 introduced MyPlayer as well as Association modes that were extremely well-liked. Both would later be featured in numerous series entries.

Though the game performed reasonably for critics, the majority of gamers were disappointed by its online game features and a variety of technical and bug-related issues which sometimes resulted in an incredibly choppy framerate. A few also criticized the game's A.I., with opposition teams and players often acting somewhat oddly, leading to hilarious instances.

NBA 2K18 will be the final game in the series to be released on Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. It's also the first game in the series to include the Neighbourhoods mode which allows for open-world gaming design and allows fans to meet star players. Both players and critics were negative about the game's gameplay. But, microtransactions and the ineffective Neighbourhoods mode were highly praised. That said Visual Concepts would at least enhance the latter in Cheap MT 2K22 the future releases.