NBA 2K21 next-gen Patch 3 Patch Notes
General
Court floor updates have been made for:Philadelphia 76ers PrimaryPhiladelphia 76ers City CourtUtah Jazz City CourtBrooklyn Nets City CourtDenver Nuggets Statement CourtDenver Nuggets City Court
Uniform updates have been made for the following teams:Philadelphia 76ers (updated City uniform)Chicago Bulls (updated City uniform)New York Knicks (updated City uniform)Cleveland Cavaliers (updated City uniform)New Orleans Pelicans (updated sponsor logo)Los Angeles Clippers (updated sponsor logo)Boston Celtics (updated sponsor logo)Brooklyn Nets (updated sponsor logo)Denver Nuggets (updated sponsor logo)Los Angeles Lakers (updated sponsor logo)Washington Wizards (updated sponsor logo)
The following players have received likeness and/or signature facial animation updates:Paul GeorgeDeMar DeRozanBradley BealKemba WalkerDraymond GreenRudy GobertBen SimmonsHassan WhitesideRobin LopezSteven AdamsIsaac OkoroKelly Oubre Jr. Cassius StanleyRichaun HolmesPrecious AchiuwaJosh GreenAaron NesmithTariq OwensEdmond SumnerJalen SmithKira Lewis Jr. Saddiq BeySteve NovakKelenna AzubuikeDevin VassellChimezie MetuAlen SmailagicNaz ReidZylan CheathamThe primary logo for the Toronto Raptors has been updated to reflect the latest designCorrected a lighting issue in the historic Amway Center (Orlando Magic) arenaAddressed an issue with shorts displaying incorrectly in certain situations for classic teamsResolved a rare hang when importing a face scan via the MyNBA2K app
Gameplay
Tightened up charge and block collision animations to prevent unwanted slidingCPU defenders will now properly recognize the direction of a screen even after it has been flippedSmaller “green release” windows on heavily contested shotsFixed an issue with double-teams that was being used as an exploitAdjusted breakout time of in-game emotes to prevent unrealistic movementCorrected an issue with play graphics where the line for the pass would begin at MyPLAYER, even if they did not have the ballResolved an issue with certain settings sometimes getting reset when entering and exiting the menu when in a gameYou are now able to change the Tempo and Rebound settings when you toggle the ACE manager ON/OFFPlayers will no longer be able to move unrealistically while defending inbound passes during Garage Hoops games
The City
The City is being decked out for the holidays! Coming Tuesday at 8AM PST!Continued optimization and refinements to performance in the CityVarious improvements and enhancements to buildings/objects/landscapes/lighting in the CityFurther improvements have been made to invites and joining friends in the CityStreamlined the process of entering a store when you have a ball or vehicle equippedThe try-on feature should now properly work for the various standalone stores throughout the CityThe Rep multiplier will now correctly appear in the postgame recapCorrected an issue where the VC balance would not update immediately upon earning in various City eventsContinued enhancements to the Puma Mania, Mobil 1, Kia Challenge, and Wacky Wednesday eventsFixed an issue in the postgame recap where overall rating was not correctly showing the tenths of a point (it would appear stuck at 99. 0)Addressed user-reported issues with Garage Hoops games and related flowAdded collision to the baskets in Warehouse Challenge games for players running underneathResolved an issue where the timer/counter would sometimes not track during workouts in the Gatorade Training FacilityCorrected some visual issues when using the subwayYou are no longer able to enter and purchase items at stores for Affiliations you do not belong to
Pro-Am/The Rec
New Holiday uniforms have been added for Pro-Am gamesUpdated uniforms have been added for Rec Center gamesResolved user-reported issues with private matchmaking for Pro-Am Team gamesImproved the ability of CPU players used as fill-ins for Pro-Am Walk-On gamesAddressed an issue with invisible collision under the hoop in Pro-Am gamesAddressed tracking issues with stats during games in the Rec CenterResolved a hang that could occur in Pro-Am when editing the uniform while other players on the team were still in a game
MyCAREER
Continued improvements to arena personnel positioning and behavior during postgame events, particularly in relation to on-court interviewsYour MyPLAYER’s body type will now properly be kept individually per saveAddressed an issue with the saved camera setting being reset after the pregame shootaround in MyCAREER gamesYou can now skip through the animation of your MyPLAYER walking back to the bench after being subbed outResolved a rare issue where newly applied tattoos could disappear when changing your MyPLAYER’s appearanceFixed a rare hang that could occur in the Jump Shot Creator menu when customizing your shotFixed an issue where your difficulty could be reset after participating in a training session with Chris BrickleyAddressed a logic error in The Long Shadow when determining if your performance was good or bad in the Combine and Private NBA Team WorkoutCorrected a situation in the Dunk Contest where the Round Recap overlay could stay on the screen for too long, obscuring the following dunk
MyNBA
Uploaded Player DNAs and prospects in uploaded draft classes will now retain their tattoosStart from Offseason will now include the rookies in the 2020 NBA DraftAddressed a hang that some users reported when attempting to start a new MyNBA while using a custom rosterAddressed a hang that some users reported when attempting to download/apply Team Designs into a MyNBAEditing tattoos will now work correctly in MyNBA OnlineFixed a progression issue in MyNBA Online that was causing many players to have their overall rating incorrectly decrease over timeResolved various stability issues in MyNBA OnlineContracts for released players will no longer appear on the salary cap when dead cap rules have been disabledPlayers will now continue to age after their age has been editedVarious improvements have been made related to player training and flex schedulingYou are no longer able to edit players in a ranked MyNBA leagueImproved G League player generation to allow for a more realistic prospect pool
MyWNBA/The W
Players will now be wearing the expected/correct clothing during The W Online gamesThe camera will now always keep both the player and the ball on screen in The W Online gamesAdded baseline media to WNBA arenas and made continued improvements to positioning and behavior of all charactersFixed a rare hang that could occur during the lottery in MyWNBA or The WAddressed an issue in MyWNBA where the League MVP would also be shown as the Rookie of the Year after simulating through a season
MyTEAM
Added Online VS, the difficulty used in both MyTEAM Limited & Unlimited, to Play With Friends gamesThe camera will now be positioned properly when a shooting foul is called during Triple Threat Challenge gamesA number of under-the-hood support items have been added in preparation for upcoming MyTEAM Seasons.
Given what we see from the above list, NBA 2K21 next-gen Patch 3 is heavy on flashy elements but thin where it really matters. Starting with the good stuff, it’s nice to see some front-facing improvements coming to the game over the next day or so.
Updated likenesses and uniforms further cement 2K21 as the most realistic basketball sim money can buy. And while we can’t quite see them yet, those updated winter courts sure sound like they’ll be an awesome addition to the City. Especially as 2K continues to improve city framerates to make MyCareer worth the investment, limited-time events like these help foster a community that much more.
But, while all these visuals make the game more realistic, there’s still lots of work left to do under the hood to bring next-gen NBA 2K21 up to the level that it should be. Despite being listed in the notes, for example, our tests suggest little has been done to nerf obvious cheese maneuvers like contact dunks and fades. The more these moves are abused, the less will one has to actually outsmart your opponent.
And, speaking of smart, the Pro-Am AI is still as dumb as bricks even though the game might say CPU players are at an 85 overall. The characters don’t play defense or offense, which makes single-player games that much more frustrating. While NBA 2K21 next-gen Patch 3 has lots of fixes on an individual level, many pressing gameplay issues remain unchecked.
NBA 2K21 is available now on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
What are your thoughts on NBA 2K21 next-gen Patch 3 so far? Are your biggest problems solved? Tell us in the comments section!
