When NBA 2K26 dropped, a lot of fans seemed excited to see how the new gameplay systems would handle the modern NBA’s pace-and-space era. Unfortunately, what they’ve found so far is an AI that seems more allergic to the rim than Joel Embiid on a back-to-back.
On the Operation Sports forums, multiple players have noticed a troubling pattern: CPU ball handlers will barrel into the paint, beat their man, and then — just as the lane is wide open — kick the ball out to the perimeter instead of finishing at the rim. The result is box scores littered with 60+ three-point attempts per game, fewer than 10 free throws, and virtually no traditional layup attempts.
For those who live in MyNBA or offline modes, this issue isn’t a minor annoyance. In fact, it could even be considered a “deal breaker” for many. Seeing the CPU constantly pass up easy buckets breaks immersion and creates an unbalanced, unrealistic style of play. It also has ripple effects — if the AI never attacks the rim, they never get to the free-throw line, leading to lopsided stat sheets that don’t resemble an actual NBA game.
What’s Causing It?
OpSports community veteran MiracleMet718 noted that the problem seems tied to the new “Drive and Kick” freelance offense, which is set as the CPU’s default coaching strategy out of the box. With that setting locked in and the “Dynamic Offense” option off, the AI often ignores layup opportunities to swing the ball to the perimeter.
Others, like Sirdez and Synonimms, dug deeper into the tendencies and discovered something more alarming: The “Driving Layup Tendency” column is completely missing from the main roster spreadsheet that the AI references in-game. While you can still see and edit a driving layup rating on individual player cards, the value isn’t populating in the AI’s actual decision-making table. In other words, as far as the CPU is concerned, every player has a 0 percent tendency to finish layups directly off drives. That explains the bizarre hesitation players have reported seeing.
Real2KInsider added more context, pointing out that in past 2K versions, certain ratings (like “Pick & Roll IQ on old gen) remained visible on player cards even after they were functionally removed from the gameplay engine. That raises the possibility that 2K either unintentionally broke the column link or intentionally phased it out as part of their new motion and freelance system.
How To Fix It
As you would expect, the OpSports community hasn’t sat idly by. And because of that, a few potential workarounds have already surfaced:
- Change CPU offensive strategy: Switching the CPU’s default freelance from Drive and Kick to something else, and setting Freelance Mode to Dynamic instead of Static, has helped some players see more layups and rim pressure.
- Foul frequency: Maxing out Driving and Inside Contact Shot Frequency, while boosting layup defense sliders, has produced more realistic free throw attempts.
Additionally, user EccentricMeat suggests using some custom sliders. We actually posted his slider set earlier, so check it out!
Since this issue has emerged, some users have reported that this issue has either been fixed or somewhat mitigated with 2K26‘s most recent patch. To allow our readers to better keep up with the issue, we have attached the original forum thread to the comments. Don’t hesitate to get involved in the conversation!
