NBA The Run had us pretty interested when it was announced earlier this year. And with its open beta weekend just hours away at the time of writing, we thought it’s a good time to give you a rundown of what it’s offering, and the interesting ways in which it’s trying to build on its inspirations.
With the game trying to reach the lofty heights of legendary titles like NBA Jam, and NBA Street, you can expect that developer Play by Play has spared no effort in making this one feel familiar but fresh. How does it manage to do that? Let’s dive in!
1. A Fun New Format
The Run pits your team of three against three other opponents in street basketball match-ups that occur across three different game modes. You’ve got Knockout Squads, in which you team up with your buddies (with an AI player in case you fall short of three) to beat a similarly built team online. Knockout Solos let you take control of a single character or your entire team of three in matches against online opponents.
And then there are Tournaments, which take the action up to another level.
2. Fast Paced And Fun
As the name suggests, The Run is about winning on the trot, bringing your A-game to the court every time. To that end, the developers have given us a fast-paced format on Tournaments, where each run brings four rounds, with each run lasting for about two or three minutes. It’s designed to keep you diving back in for one more run, with the rest of the game’s features working well to give you a sense of progress.
There’s also the matter of what happens if you lose a round.
3. Failure Isn’t An Option
Aside from the obvious progression-based incentives that come with consistent victories, losing a single match means your run ends, and you’re going to have to start over. It’s another part of how this game was designed to be fast-paced and addictive, emulating the titles that have inspired it. It might seem harsh at first, but you’re barely going to notice the time fly by if The Run manages to deliver on its promises.
4. 11 Iconic Courts From Around The World
The game’s unique art style and cel-shaded graphics (which we always like for their comic book-like sheen) are going to bring a number of popular street courts from various corners of the world to life. From Venice Beach to Harlem and Dongdan, there’s something for everybody to enjoy.
We’re particularly eager to see The Tenement, a location that makes each floor of its surrounding buildings a viewing area for the action below.
5. Controlled Chaos In Each Game
If you thought taking on equally skilled players was challenging enough, there’s another layer to the action that brings unpredictability and nuance to each game. You get randomized rule sets that apply buffs or debuffs to specific actions or player skills, which influence your ability to control the flow of each match.
The right ones could have you dominating the court while the wrong ones could have you scrambling to stay in the game, and it’s going to be a chaotic road to victory in this one.
6. Scoring Your Skills
You’re not just looking to score points against your opponents, though. You’re going to be evaluated on your skill, ability to improvise on the fly, and the chemistry you foster with your teammates. While the details of how those mechanics work are being kept under wraps for now, it’s a great way to encourage players to be as competitive as they can manage each and every time they step into a game.
That system, in tandem with the ones we’ve spoken about, is sure to sustain the fast pace that this one aims to achieve.
7. An Expansive Launch Roster
There are going to be 32 players available for you to choose from when this one drops on June 9, with some big names like Stephen Curry, Scottie Barnes, LeBron James, Josh Giddey, and so many more. That’s quite the roster, and makes us pretty optimistic about this one being as addictive as it claims to be when we consider some of the other stuff that’s later down the line on this list.
There are more players scheduled to be added in the 2026-27 season, so there’s that to look forward to if you jump in and get hooked on The Run.
8. Rookie Variants
There are five players in the game’s roster who bring rookie variants, which are versions from the early stages of the player’s career that come with different skill sets in comparison. The players in question are Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and LeBron James.
The skill mechanic is our next stop, in case you were wondering what all that talk about varying skills was about.
9. Playing to Your Team’s Strengths
In yet another layer of nuance to the gameplay loop, the players you pick for your three-man team are going to influence how well you’re able to adapt to randomized modifiers in each game. Each player comes with strengths and weaknesses, and you’re encouraged to mix and match team compositions to try and anticipate as many eventualities as you can while utilizing any synergies you can strike up as best you can.
That brings a tactical layer to team selection, as you’re going to be looking to secure every advantage you can get to hedge against the unpredictability that this one offers.
10. Masters of Their Craft
A nice touch that’s been added to your team selection UI is the crown, which adds a well, crown, to any skills that an individual player has mastered. There are also star ratings to skills, with most players having access to two six-star abilities (which are the highest ones) that you must use efficiently in matches.
Of course, even that comes with a little twist of its own in what’s definitely a pattern with this one. There are a handful of players who have excelled at specific areas, and have earned widespread renown for doing so.
11. Street Legends
There’s more to look forward to on the player front. You’ve got Streetball Legends, who are elite players who dominate a certain aspect of play while coming with a balanced limitation in another one to make them tactically sound choices with a number of lineups.
You’ve got Shen Tong, Spin Cycle, El Gigante, DJ, and Bobbito who are going to bring a dash of street cred to your team. They also have access to three 6-star abilities instead of the usual two.
12. A Balanced Challenge
Although the action may be past-paced and layered, The Run is designed to ease you into things with a fair learning curve and meaningful paths to progression and more advanced manoeuvres on the court. It’s one of those titles that’s easy to learn but harder to master. It’s a good thing that it’s designed to keep you playing, as there’s no better way to get better at a game than training your muscle memory to do the heavy lifting.
13. Cosmetic Unlocks
You’re going to be pleased to know that only cosmetics are gated behind progression-based unlockables, with skills and anything you need to have an edge on the court being available to you without being dependent on your progression, with the exception of Street Legends.
However, we’re expecting that the lot of them are going to be made available sooner rather than later based on how the game’s marketing is doubling down on its accessibility and addictive nature, which would be very welcome if things play out that way.
14. A Familiar Face In The Commentator’s Box
Bobbito Garcia isn’t just taking to the court as a Street Legend. He’s also going to be your in-game emcee, and he’s apparently recorded over 3000 lines of dialogue spanning over 50 hours for this one.
If you’re familiar with his past appearances in similar titles, you already know that he brings a very welcome vibe to each match, and the sheer volume of lines he’s recorded is sure to offset the fatigue that comes from repetitive dialogues from the box in most sport-based games. We suspect that some of you are going to exhaust all of it sooner rather than later, though.
15. Miscellaneous
If you’re thinking about diving into this one on PC, it requires a 64-bit processor at minimum (duh), while at the time of writing this, the other requirements are yet to be announced. We think it’s important to mention that the developers have asserted that the game’s netcode is designed to sync with the action very well, making gameplay feel quite smooth and responsive.
And that’s about it for this one. We’re pretty optimistic about this one bringing a very refreshing take on arcade-style street ball when it drops for PC and consoles this week. We’re going to be seeing you on the court, so bring your best teams to the game. May the best ones win.
