Winning games in The City isn’t a walk in the park anymore (literally), and you’ll need to bring your A-game if you want to get on the leaderboards. The City is one of NBA 2K26’s defining features, combining the social and competitive aspects all into one. When you walk through The City for the first time, it might seem overwhelming, but today, I’m here to teach you how to make your mark in this game mode.
The City isn’t just about fancy dunks or how good your hoops are. Whether you’re looking to dominate Street Kings or get your name on the leaderboards, you need a strategy. Gone are the days when you could just load up a game and out-skill opponents with random builds. So stick around to see different ways I’ve cooked up to win you more games in NBA 2K26’s The City.
How To Actually Win More Games In The City
Understanding The City’s Features
The most important part of getting better at something is understanding it fundamentally. The City isn’t just a gateway to quick games; it’s a social hub where you can interact with other players and take your pick of games. With smoother animation and games placed closer together, you don’t have to compromise on the type of match you want to play.
In The City, you’ve got a variety of playstyles and facilities such as:
- Gatorade Training Facility (Central Plaza)
- Event Centre (Central Plaza)
- Main Arena (Central Plaza)
- Theatre (Outskirts)
- Rec Centre (Outskirts)
- Proving Grounds (Outskirts)
- Seasonal Parks
- Street Kings
- MyCOURT
- Pro-Am Tournaments
Now, I know that’s a lot to take in at first, but you don’t have to play all of them to progress. Now that you know everything featured in The City, let’s get down to how you can win more games here.
Optimise Your Build
A messy build will always hold you back, regardless of how skilful you are. The first step to winning more games is simple: fix your build. While playing with original builds is super fun, and I encourage creativity and innovativeness, chances are your build is cut out for the meta. If you want to shoot up the leaderboards, your best bet is picking a meta build online.
Remember that one build won’t cut it, since every game mode has different requirements. It also depends on who your teammates are (2v2, 3v3, or 5v5). But switching builds is something we’ll cover later on. For now, pick up a position you like to play, for example, Point Guard, copy a meta build for it, and practice with it. In a 1v1 situation, you’ll have to cover all positions yourself, so having a build you know inside out is ideal.
You can always take new builds to MyCOURT to test them out before bringing them on to the court. MyCOURT is a great way to practice and refine your build, so you don’t get thrashed in PvP.
Play To Your Strengths
Playing a plethora of builds seems fun until you get outplayed by the one-trick Center. If you’re good at a particular position, learn the ropes of it before branching out. This won’t just help you feel more confident during games, but it will also give you a sure-fire build to fall back on if things aren’t going well.
Players who know their positions in-depth will always be able to outplay those who have surface-level knowledge. So if you really want to win more games in the City, practising your build/position is the way to go.
This is especially true once you get to higher ranks and team up with more experienced players. It is expected that you can excel at your chosen role. And as you’ll see ahead, having a solid pre-formed team is very important to succeed in NBA 2K26.
Learn To Position And Space Like A Pro
I know how I’ve mentioned how a good build supercedes skill several times, but both of these go hand-in-hand. A good build without proper game knowledge is worthless, and vice versa. Learning how to position yourself, whether solo or in a team, is essential to winning games. Rushing into your opponent in a 1v1 can easily leave your basket open, while bad positioning in a 2v2 can isolate your teammate.
Knowing the when and where of your position is fundamental to winning more games, especially in the City, where fast-paced games take precedence. Not understanding these basic principles of basketball will leave you with a handful of losses and no proper teammates.
Play With A Crew/Friends
Solo play is fun, but nothing can beat getting those highlight dunks with your friends. The rebound, the setup, and the run-up to the dunk give you a different type of exhilaration. My recommendation would definitely be to gather some friends or join a crew and play as a team. There are multiple reasons behind why this leads to more successful play-throughs.
First off, the chances of you getting outplayed in a 1v1 are higher. There will always be someone better at individual games, and unless you’re confident in your ability to take on at least 80% of the playerbase, getting a duo or trio is better.
Secondly, once you have chemistry with your team and are able to read each other’s plays, even without voice chat, games feel smoother. You know you can rely on your teammates to cover their positions and set up/finish plays. And chances are, the other team is a bunch of randoms with no chemistry, meaning it’ll be much easier to win.
Teams also allow you to focus on one role specifically, instead of having to cover multiple positions. This ties back to my second point of playing to your strengths. No more covering the rebound if you don’t want to.
