What Modes Can You Play Offline in NBA 2K25?

In the past, everything from Play Now to Career to Blacktop could be enjoyed offline in NBA 2K. Now, things are a bit different. In order to play MyCareer, you need to be connected online.

This is because MC and the City are merged into one mode, and in order to play City games you need to be connected. This is unfortunate for those who wish to simply play the MyCareer mode and get in some NBA games with their MyPlayer. In past games, the Park and MyCareer were separate. You’d enter your MyCourt and from there you could decide to jump into NBA games or go to the Park to play streetball online. Simple.

With all of that being said, although we can’t play MC games offline anymore, there are still plenty of other ways to enjoy the NBA 2K25 experience offline.

Play Now

Well, I think this one was pretty obvious. Yes, indeed you can enjoy some regular NBA hoops in Play Now without being online. There’s also an awesome new sub-mode called “MyERAs Play Now” that lets you play games with teams of yesteryear based on specific years (1982, 1991, 2002, 2012, and 2016). You can also play games with classic filters too in this mode.

The only thing to keep in mind is that if you play offline you’ll only be able to play with the day one rosters, so you won’t see the updated player attributes or players on their new teams. You can, of course, do this manually by editing the rosters yourself.

MyNBA Eras

Arguably the best franchise mode in sports gaming today, MyNBA Eras lets you create your league in a slew of ways. And now, you can start in past years and reshape history thanks to the Eras feature. What would have happened if Michael Jordan didn’t have Scottie Pippen? What if LeBron James didn’t join the Heat? You can answer these questions and many more in MyNBA Eras.

You can also just begin in the modern times and see how things unfold. You can also get creative and start leagues that aren’t the NBA. Thanks to the 2K community, you can download custom uniforms and court combos to give teams a fresh new look. However, if you’re playing offline you can only download three uniform/court packages when offline. Any others you’d need to be online to get.

One thing I enjoy doing is downloading college team packages, especially since there’s no college game on the market (dear devs, please bring college basketball games back). So, you can at least grab your favorite school’s uniform and court and take on the NBA teams. I also like to download MLB packages too so I can hoop it up with my beloved (and disappointing) White Sox. Let your imagination soar in this mode.

Blacktop

This right here is an NBA 2K classic. This is one mode that will never go away, even with the City around. Blacktop has been around all the way since the beginning and was used as a precursor for the Park/City where they had the glorious MyPlayer Blacktop mode.

But you can still enjoy this mode offline as usual. You have more players to choose from than ever thanks to the addition of so many NBA legends over the years. And a cool thing is that if you’re someone who does have a MyPlayer, you can choose them for your team in this single-player mode.

Mix and match your squads and play games from 2v2 to 5v5. You can also enjoy some 1v1 games. I sometimes enjoy going against a player with a low interior defensive rating so I can dunk on them with players like Shaq, Vince Carter, or MJ as I please.

Learn 2K

Honestly, there aren’t many things more chill than freestyle practice modes in sports games. You can just freely play how you like while just relaxing and zoning out. And on top of that, of course, you can work on your game and get better. It’s a win-win situation.

Well, that’s what Learn 2K is in NBA 2K25. For years the mode was simply known as Practice but now we see the current rebranding. You can head into the aforementioned Freestyle mode and you can also run scrimmages if you want a taste of full game action. Also new to 2K25 are some mini games that should help improve your game.

My only tiny issue with the new practice mode is that when playing Freestyle or Scrimmage we are playing on a Learn 2K branded court instead of shooting around in the actual NBA arenas. And if you feel the same, then this is just a little heads up.

MyGM

A classic mode that has been revived for NBA 2K25, MyGM lets you step into the shoes of an NBA GM as you can make key decisions to help build a championship-caliber team. This time, the mode gives you the ability the walk around your office and talk to NPCs.

You can choose your attribute style for your GM and this will have an effect on your conversations with NPCs and your ability to build a quality squad. You can start with a an archetype or start from scratch and build your GM that way.

WNBA

The WNBA mode features Play Now, MyWNBA, and The W for you to play. Play Now and MyWNBA can be played offline of course just like with the NBA side. The W is basically the female version of MyCareer where you create your MyPlayer and try to make her a WNBA legend.

Rejoice single-player gamers, this mode does not need a connection. So you can get your career basketball fix without being online. There is a 3v3 mode called The W Online that, you guessed it, needs a connection. But if you’re all about the WNBA experience, then you have nothing to worry about, and on top of that you don’t need VC to improve your MyPlayer’s attributes.