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How to play Basketball Career

Basketball Career is a basketball career simulator you play in your browser. One career takes about 5 to 15 minutes: you create a player, make a decision every offseason, and the seasons play out in seconds. This guide covers everything you can choose, how each decision works and how to build a Hall of Fame career.

1. Create your player

Pick men's or women's basketball first. The two follow how the American game really works: men can go one-and-done after a college season and face a two-round draft with a lottery; women usually play four years of college, enter a three-round draft and spend winters overseas or in a winter 3x3 league. Then choose a last name, a jersey number, your home state (teams from your state like you more) and a position on the half-court.

2. Choose a starting story

Your story sets the age and rating you start at, and the route into the pros. Three stories are locked until you earn the achievement shown.

Story	Start age	Start OVR	What it is	Availability
Five-star recruit	16	53	Start at 16 as one of the top high school prospects in the country.	Open
College route	18	55	Start at 18 with three scholarship offers. Then the Pro Draft.	Open
Overseas route	18	55	Turn pro abroad at 18 and get paid while you learn the game.	Open
Late bloomer	16	49	Start weaker at 16, but you keep growing into your late 20s.	Open
Undrafted grinder	22	60	Nobody called your name at 22. Prove them wrong.	Open
Can't-miss prodigy	16	49	You arrive early and fade early. Crowds expect greatness from day one.	Unlock: Rookie of the Year
Legacy kid	16	53	Your parent was a pro star. A head start, but every crowd expects more.	Unlock: No. 1 Pick
Second act	27	71	Two years lost to injury. Start over at 27 and prove you still belong.	Unlock: Most Valuable

3. Pick a playstyle

Balanced. A bit of everything.
Scorer. More points, fewer assists. Scoring titles come easier.
Playmaker. Assists and steals up, points down. Teams win more with you.
Two-way. Blocks, steals and boards up, points down. A defensive award threat.

Playstyles change what you're likely to win, not how good you are: across thousands of simulated careers, every style ends with about the same average Hall of Fame score.

4. Pick a pace

Express gives you a decision every three seasons, Normal every two and Intense every season. On a phone, the career table shows one row per stretch so the whole career and your choices fit on one screen.

5. Decide every offseason

Each decision is one of a few kinds:

Offers. Every team offer shows your role (starter, sixth man, rotation or bench), the money and years, and your chance of winning a ring or title. A badge marks the offer with the most money, the best ring shot or the biggest role, so the trade-off is clear at a glance.
Contracts. Stay, sign an extension or request a trade. Restricted free agency lets your team match an offer sheet.
Career moments. More than 115 situations, from official visits and NIL deals to a shoe deal, load management and a tax probe abroad. Most show the odds of each outcome; some keep them hidden. A few choices come back years later.
Your rival. A player from your class with a career of their own. They call you out, meet you in the playoffs and may ask you to team up.

6. Retire and read your legacy

Your career ends at 40, when you choose to retire, or when nobody calls. You get a Hall of Fame score from 0 to 100 (Journeyman, Solid Pro, Club Icon, Hall of Famer or Legend), a career identity that sums up your story, your four defining moments, the rivalry result and a share card.

Career identities you can earn include: Campus to Crown, The Basketball Nomad, The Bucket Getter, The Cautionary Tale, The Comeback Kid, The Draft Bust, The Draft Steal, The Dynasty Builder, The Early Phenom, The Eternal Runner-Up, The Fallen Star, The Fan Favorite, The Floor General, The Franchise Cornerstone, The GOAT, The Glass Cleaner, The Global Icon, The Greatest What-If, The Grinder, The Hall of Famer, The Hometown Hero, The Journeyman Star, The Late Bloomer, The Living Legend, The Lockdown Artist, The Loyal Soldier, The National Hero, The One-Team Legend, The Overseas Legend, The Reliable Pro, The Ring Collector, The Ringless King, The Rival Slayer, The Scoring Machine, The Sixth Man, The Two-Way Star, The Ultimate Journeyman, The Undrafted Miracle.

7. Daily Draft and Weekly challenge

The Daily Draft gives everyone the same career for the day; the Weekly challenge does the same for a week with a different start each time. Compare Hall of Fame scores on each leaderboard. No account is needed.

Tips for a Hall of Fame career

Minutes matter more than money early on. A starting role grows your rating and your stats faster than a bench seat on a contender.
Rings count for more than anything else in the Hall of Fame score. Once you're a star, a contender's offer is often worth more than a bigger salary.
Staying at one team builds fan love. High fan love adds to your score and can earn you a retired jersey or a statue.
Read the odds. A 60/40 gamble that costs 2 OVR when it fails is worth it early in a career and risky late.
Playing for your country adds games and trophies to your score, so accept call-ups when your team allows it.
Late bloomers keep improving into their late twenties; don't give up on a slow start.
Chase your three career goals: each one is an achievement that stays unlocked, and some unlock new stories and jerseys.

Start a career