I Played NBA The Run Early
SOFTDRINKTV covers Mike Young's Street pedigree, the 18-person indie team, rollback online play, roster depth, and why he came away impressed after an hour with the game.
Street veterans, indie budget
Mike Young (NBA Street, FIFA Street, SSX, former Madden creative director) left EA with Scott Probst to build Play by Play Studios — self-funded, NBA-licensed after the league approached them post-announcement.
Only 18 people work on the game across PS5, Xbox Series, and Steam (Steam Deck compatible per his Linux test).
Gameplay feel and defense
After an hour online he calls movement fluid, shooting fair, and alley-oops/dunks the highlight. Defense is equally engaging — you must pass or get stolen on; lockdown builds feel dangerous.
Mike Young's pitch: modern sports games hide defense behind simming; NBA The Run wants defense as fun as offense.
Rollback netcode and controls
Online had no perceptible lag thanks to rollback netcode — instant passes, cuts, and dribble moves like a fighting-game rhythm on the right stick rather than spamming 2K-style chains.
Minor feedback: wants a 2K-style behind-the-back camera, polish on dunk-vs-layup trigger distance, and clarity on screens.
Roster, presentation, modes
32 launch players are hand-sculpted with unique abilities; rookie variants (Curry, Luka, KD, SGA, LeBron) play differently from modern versions. Bobbito Garcia returns with 3,000+ commentary lines. Real courts include Rucker Park.
Modes covered: KO Squads matchmaking, KO Solos (control all three), KO Friends tournaments up to 48 players, shoot around, and offline CPU.
No MTX and future content
Cred is earn-only — cosmetics, taunts, banners, no microtransactions at launch. Legends, more teams (no Jazz/Nets yet), WNBA, and influencer skins are teased.
He wants instant replay, spectator mode, and eventually franchise/career modes as live-service updates roll out.
Edited from SOFTDRINKTV's video narration. Wording follows the original subtitles.
