NBA 2K21 is a that was developed by and published by , based on the National Basketball Association (). It is the 22nd installment in the franchise and the successor to , and the predecessor to . The game was released on September 4, 2020 for , , , , and , and on November 12, 2020 for and . The , , and versions released to mixed reviews, with critics criticizing the lack of originality in the gameplay, as well as microtransactions and bugs.
The NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition was released for on April 2, 2021.
A staple of the series, MyCareer, returns as one of the available game modes. MyCareer is a career mode in which the player creates their own customizable basketball player and plays through their basketball career. Players may make a male or female player, although female is only available on next-gen consoles. The Neighborhood also returns to MyCareer, as 2K Beach, in which players can customize their wardrobe, get haircuts and tattoos, and purchase boosts. They can also do their workouts and run drills to improve their attributes at their current team's practice facility. Progress in MyCareer may not carry over across generations, due to some changes made exclusively for next-gen.