EDIT: I take back everything i said below, and sincerely apologize if my previous positive review convinced anyone to purchase this game. Because this game is completely broken. The finances are completely and utterly broken, as has been the case in some of this studio's other sports sims. By my 3rd season, not only was literally every single team in the NBA significantly over the cap, all but 3 were at least $80 million over the cap (with quite a few being well over $100 million above the cap). And this is before the draft and before Free Agency, with half-empty rosters. This includes myself, even though i had only signed two low-tier free agents over the course of 3 seasons, and the teams in the lottery. What this means, of course, is that the game is just broken at that point. Nobody can make trades because everyone is over the cap to an absurd degree, which blocks the trade, and nobody can sign free agents for the same reason. It seems that the salary cap never increases from season to season, while player salaries do (and significantly so). For a game where the entire purpose is to guide a franchise over an extended period of time, it's kind of a pretty big deal that you can only play a maximum of 3 seasons before the game just completely breaks down. Quite bummed about it, actually, as i was enjoying it quite a bit otherwise and would love to have a good basketball sim. Plus, my team was just starting to really come together!
Fun, if somewhat raw, sports management sim. If you're looking for an NBA / basketball management sim along the lines of OOTP or Football Manager, this is probably the best of what is currently available.
Is it perfect? No, it is not. There are definitely areas where there is A LOT of room for improvement. Does it have as much depth as the aforementioned sports sims games? No, it does not. It is lacking in some areas, and just outright missing others (for instance, my single biggest complaint: there don't seem to be any physical stats/abilities for the players?!? Unless i'm missing something, there are no metrics or stats for speed, agility, strength, etc etc. So... do they just really not exist in this game? As far as this game is concerned, Nikola Jokic has the exact same speed, quickness, and lateral agility as De'aaron Fox? There's no differentiation between players when simulating a game? Or are these things just hidden, for some odd reason?).
With all of that being said: i still really enjoy the game. It still has the fun foundation of managing a franchise, making trades, developing players, signing coaches, etc etc, and then watching your creation succeed or fail as a result of your decisions.
It's also easier to overlook the flaws that are present (or features that are not) considering the dearth of other options. There just...aren't really many basketball sims, and certainly not any great ones. So even with its flaws, this is still the best option available by a sizable margin. And, like i said, i really am enjoying it. I just also hope for a time when the game is a bit more fleshed out and has a bit more depth and polish.
This "franchise" is still in its infancy, not having many entries prior to this one; i have to assume that the game is very likely to improve and to receive that depth and polish in future iterations.... if it sells well enough for them to justify the effort and expense. If they know there is an audience out there for a solid basketball management sim, they will likely focus more resources on it. So on top of a fun and entertaining management sim, you also get the potential added benefit of helping to ensure that the game improves in the coming years. It's always worth throwing your support behind a smaller dev, in my opinion (especially one who is filling a niche and making something that others companies have ignored).
So, if you're a big NBA fan and/or want a fun basketball sim and don't mind a few rough edges, it's definitely worth checking out.
(Also, since i've seen this mentioned in numerous reviews of Wolverine Studios games: i personally have not experienced any stability issues thus far. No crashes, freezes, etc etc. So far, it has run perfectly fine for me.)
