NBA The Run is a live-service 3v3 street basketball game showcasing NBA stars of today. Learn more about the game’s plot, gameplay, release date, our review of the game, and more.
[Update (6/23/26):Developer Play by Play Studios has confirmed that NBA The Run will feature NBA Legends and more content as part of their post-launch updates.]
Overview
What is NBA The Run?
NBA The Run is a fast-paced, 3v3 streetball game featuring current NBA stars battling it out on the blacktop. Players go head-to-head in a grueling tournament format to claim the throne as champions of the streets. The game brings this global culture to life by showcasing classic venues, such as New York's Rucker Park and California's Venice Beach, alongside iconic international hotspots like the Tenement in the Philippines and the Dongdan Courts in China.
NBA The Run features:
⚫︎ Fast-paced Arcade Basketball
⚫︎ Comic book, Cel-shaded visuals
⚫︎ 3v3 Tournament Format
⚫︎ Constantly Changing Rules
⚫︎ Live-Service Multiplayer
⚫︎ Rollback Netcode
| Digital Storefronts | ||
|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 Playstation |
 Xbox |
| $29.99 | ||
NBA The Run Review: Barely Touches the Rim
Back to the Streets
I’ve been owning the virtual court since ‘99 — from the classic hardwood in NBA 2K and NBA Live to the rough streets in NBA Street and NBA Ballers. I even had my time with the vintage arcade NBA Jam and the handheld spinoff, NBA Street Showdown.
But despite the vast possibilities of the basketball genre, 2K Games has dominated this space for the past decade or so with its close-to-reality simulation titles. Although the NBA 2K series has done a great job in translating the sport into a video game, my heart still yearns for the comeback of that in-your-face streetball experience, and NBA The Run looks to quench that long drought.
With new iconic players currently making their names in the league, it is interesting to see how Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the others fare in the blacktop. Both the NBA Street and NBA Ballers series have laid out the blueprint for a perfect streetball experience, but it seems that NBA The Run still hardly meets these expectations.
Purely Online, No Single-Player Modes
NBA The Run is an online-only, live-service title with absolutely zero offline content. It gives you three game modes to choose from—Knockout Squads, Solos, and Friends—but they all follow the same 3v3 tournament format.
There’s no couch co-op, exhibition 1v1 or 2v2 modes, single-player campaign, or any other modes that previous street-style basketball titles had. This severely limits the game’s replayability, and things get stale after just a few runs, since you're basically playing the same 3v3 matches over and over again.
It makes the game feel super one-dimensional by forcing you into competitive play with zero alternatives. Playing through a whole tournament gauntlet gets tiring. Sometimes you just want to relax with a quick local match or a solid story mode, rather than constantly fighting for your life online.
Honestly, a massive chunk of the fun in classic streetball titles came from a solo campaign, where you got to build your own character and slowly carve out your own legacy in the city. It actually feels like there was supposed to be one, considering how rich the game’s world-building is with the revamped courts and the inclusion of original characters, such as El Gigante, Shen Tong, and the others.
In NBA Street Vol. 2, legends like Stretch and Bonafide became iconic and actually mattered because they were pivotal to the story. Here? Those new hoopers just lack meaning because you have literally zero attachment to them.
I personally feel robbed of experiencing a full-fledged solo campaign and was really disappointed, especially since the game has the tools to make a kick-ass story mode. The original characters even had short backstories in their descriptions, which makes it all the more frustrating that you don’t actually get to interact or learn more about them.
Classic NBA Street Gameplay with A Few Twists
NBA The Run’s gameplay is almost identical to NBA Street’s mechanics: flashy passes, fancy dribble moves, tough defensive maneuvers, posterizing dunks, and so much more. This bit of nostalgia helped me pick up the game immediately, especially since it literally has no tutorial whatsoever.
However, NBA The Run tweaked NBA Street’s "Gamebreaker" with their own "In The Zone (ITZ)" meter. Instead of pulling off an unstoppable, jaw-dropping finisher, activating the ITZ allows players to gain massive stat boosts through their unique "Zone Ability," like Stephen Curry’s Deep Threat, which allows him to shoot further, or Kyrie Irving’s Anklebreaker, which lets him stun defenders easier.
While Gamebreakers were legendary, the ITZ system fits NBA The Run’s competitive focus way better, as it can change the flow of the game. Sure, it’s not as satisfying as posterizing a defender or breaking their ankles in slow-mo, but it’s a massive help when you need to get a late run or ice your competition.
The game also throws in dynamic rule changes that switch up every time you advance in the tournament. Whether it's dunks counting for three points or having an infinite stamina tank, you’ve got to quickly adapt and use the new rules to your advantage to win.
This further emphasizes building the right team comp, as you need players fully equipped to adapt to any rule swap and still come out on top. Each player feels balanced and viable to use, which really helped me create the perfect trio for whatever playstyle I preferred.
It actually pushed me to try out different combinations of ballers, which was a welcome change of pace since I usually just stick to the same lineup in sports games. The rule-changing mechanic also kept things totally unpredictable, making every run feel fresh while still staying surprisingly fair despite the randomness.
Unlock Dunks, Vintage Jerseys, and More
Although the 3v3 tournaments become stale after a while, NBA The Run actually incentivizes you to play more with its robust progression system. Each match yields an in-game currency called Cred, depending on your performance and results, which can be used to unlock new dunk animations, taunts, profile icons, jerseys, and much more.
This somewhat mitigates that bland, repetitive feeling and adds more customization to how you embarrass your opponents. While this still doesn’t compare to what previous streetball titles had with their create-a-character (I’m still hung up on not having a story mode), it is nice to see Kevin Durant rock that 90s Rockets jersey, or LeBron James don that vintage blue Lakers fit.
Sadly, it takes a while to actually experience this since these items are locked behind a Rank system, and cost quite a bit of Cred. You’re essentially stuck with doing 360 dunks and basic Tomahawks for about 30 or so matches, which is going to be tough for you to endure when you see other players doing between-the-legs or wearing vintage jerseys.
Even though it takes some grinding to get these rewards, I was glad and surprised that everything can be earned this way. It is very rare for live-service games not to push players to spend money to get an edge, which is why I tip my hat off to the devs for steering away from this route.
Going Global
The gritty concrete courts make a triumphant return in NBA The Run, featuring a mix of iconic venues and new global playgrounds that streetball purists will easily recognize. From the heart of New York streetball at Rucker Park to the sun-drenched, laid-back atmosphere of Venice Beach, California, these classic stages return with beautifully modernized visuals.
What really caught my eye were the international hotspots like Beijing's Dongdan courts and the iconic Tenement in Taguig, Philippines. These new and updated venues emphasize that NBA The Run is not just a modernized rehash of NBA Street’s courts, but a true global evolution of street basketball.
This attention to detail shines at the Tenement, where the background crowd genuinely captures the local community. With kids watching from the sidelines, neighbors peering over rooftops, laundry hanging from the balconies, and even a rogue chicken prancing around the court, the environment is incredibly immersive. It truly makes you feel like you're playing on a real neighborhood blacktop.
The courts themselves actually try to remedy the repetitive gameplay loop because they’re just so amazing to look at. Even though I’ve played on every venue there is, I always find myself finding new stuff in the background, which diminishes the staleness of the game just a bit.
Forgotten Legends
One of the hottest topics in hoops culture is "what-if" scenarios—debating how today’s stars would stack up against past legends, or what it would look like if they shared the court. Unfortunately, you won't be seeing a Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James matchup or a Tim Duncan-Victor Wembanyama duo in NBA The Run, since the game excludes legendary players.
This is straight-up disheartening. Part of celebrating streetball culture is honoring the greats, and NBA The Run completely disregards that. Don’t get me wrong, stars of today could lace up in the blacktop, but playing as Julius Erving or Allen Iverson in Rucker Park is literally the pinnacle of street hoops.
The small roster of current players already hurts the game’s replayability, and completely excluding legends just doubles down on the problem. There are only so many unique combinations you can make with just over 30 players in a 3v3 format, and throwing legends into the mix would have been the perfect way to stop the game from getting stale so fast.
The devs don’t even need to go that deep into history to curate a roster fitting for a streetball title. Players like Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, or Jamal Crawford were from the 2010s, and trust me, a lot of ballheads are craving to see them in this type of game.
I feel like the game focused way too much on forcing today’s stars into a streetball setting and completely forgot that the NBA already has a history of legends born and bred for the asphalt. However, the developers did confirm that they plan to add more players in future updates, including legends.
This would be a great addition and would definitely improve the game overall, but it is still up in the air how many NBA legends they will add, or will they even be the right choices for the game.
Silence on the Blacktop
To round out all the missed opportunities that could've made NBA The Run a cult classic, the game doesn't even have a licensed playlist. Hip-hop is literally the heartbeat of streetball culture, so dropping a street basketball game completely stripped of that vibe is honestly laughable.
NBA Street and NBA Ballers had me demolishing the competition with Nelly and Nate Dogg dropping bars in the background. That exact energy is totally missing in NBA The Run, which honestly kills the immersion in an otherwise perfectly crafted game world.
Furthermore, playing to generic stock beats makes the grind feel, well, like a total grind. Getting DJ Bobbito Garcia from NBA Street was an awesome touch. But aside from his creative commentary, NBA The Run completely fails to deliver that raw, auditory vibe of actually being out on the blacktop battling other hoopers.
Is NBA The Run Worth It?
Wait for More Updates, Then We’ll Talk
NBA The Run is like a quick sip of water after a long drought—it’s not enough to fully quench your thirst, but it leaves you wanting more. At its core, it definitely tries to be the true successor to NBA Street, but it fails to live up to that gold standard by leaving out vital elements like offline modes, legendary players, and a banger soundtrack.
While its gameplay and worldbuilding were top-notch, the restrictive 3v3 tournament format and absence of a story mode prevent it from reaching its full potential. Its $29.99 price tag is quite hefty, considering it is a game that only features three game modes that are essentially the same thing
Personally, I’d wait for future updates to see if the game actually adds more content, or a sale to justify buying something that is basically nostalgia bait. For now, I’d rather just fire up NBA Street Vol. 2 or NBA Ballers: Phenom to get that authentic, full-fledged streetball fix than play a superficial version of a game that I once loved.
FAQ
Does NBA The Run have offline play?
No, NBA The Run doesn’t have any offline modes—it requires a constant internet connection to play. On top of that, the game features only three modes: Knockout Squad, Knockout Solo, and Knockout Friends, which all follow the same 3v3 tournament format.
Does NBA The Run have microtransactions?
No, NBA The Run does not have any microtransactions or any pay-to-win features. Players can earn every reward through a robust progression system by leveling up and completing matches.
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