NBA The Run
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ReviewsThE Book Of SwantE·32:22·2026-06-01

HORRIBLE? NBA THE RUN GAMEPLAY - FULL REVIEW

SwantE breaks down a pre-launch patch, explains why squad play matters, and argues NBA The Run is worth trying even if it is not perfect street-ball fantasy.

Source video by ThE Book Of SwantEOpen on YouTube if player doesn't load

Pre-launch patch notes

A new patch dropped right before launch with nine new dribble and style-move animations. The golden ten was nerfed, blocking reach for top rim protectors was reduced, AI shoving rates were lowered, and some player abilities were tweaked. Ball speed off the rim was adjusted, and general gameplay animations were polished.

SwantE also calls out smaller fixes he noticed on screen, including scoreboard and MVP presentation tweaks plus player rating tuning.

Squad up — randoms will cook your run

His biggest practical warning is to avoid solo-queue randoms. Voice chat is badly needed, and if you buy the game he strongly suggests finding a fixed squad through Discord or a stream community.

If you do not have a team, he recommends the single-player mode where you control every player instead of relying on unpredictable online teammates.

Verdict: flawed, but fun

Despite the provocative title, he says he personally had a lot of fun and plans to buy it. He compares it favorably to NBA Live, which he calls unredeemable, and argues players should give non-2K basketball games a chance so the genre does not become a monopoly.

He encourages viewers who skipped the beta to at least try the game once before dismissing it.

What he wants changed next

Shot feedback needs to be clearer. Directional passing felt unreliable in his session. Stamina drains too quickly for an arcade-style street game, especially on fast breaks.

He wants more meaningful in-the-zone moments — special dunks and falls should build meter faster, and the ability itself should feel more iconic than the current blue-state system. He also wants faster overall movement, spammable taunts, and a fix for getting stuck in auto-filled squads without being able to remove players.

Live squad session

The second half of the video is a chaotic online run with friends: nonstop calls for passes, arguments over cuts and fast breaks, and plenty of trash talk. It reads less like a structured review and more like raw pickup-game audio — useful if you want a realistic sense of how messy public squad play can sound, but not much new analysis beyond the points above.

Edited from ThE Book Of SwantE's video narration. Wording follows the original subtitles.