Miami Heat

LeBron James leads the Miami Heat on the cover and in a dedicated career mode.

NBA 2K14 features the Miami Heat as a playable team. LeBron James of the Miami Heat became the cover athlete for the game and also served as the music curator. The game includes a "LeBron: Path to Greatness" mode where players control LeBron James' career in an alternate future of the NBA, either as a member of the Miami Heat for the entire time or through a more complex route where LeBron plays for the Heat before later leaving to join the New York Knicks, then returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and finally making one last return to the Heat.

Lore & Background

In NBA 2K14, the Miami Heat are central to the game's marquee feature: "LeBron: Path to Greatness" mode. This mode is exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game. It is reminiscent of an expanded version of NBA 2K11's Jordan Challenge, where players get to control LeBron James' career in an alternate future of the NBA from the 2013–14 to the 2019–20 season. Players can choose to have LeBron remain a member of the Miami Heat for the entire time, or take a more complex route where LeBron plays for the Heat, before later leaving to join the New York Knicks, only for him to leave again to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, before making one last return to the Heat.

The goal is to attempt to win 7 NBA championships total (LeBron had already won one by the start of the mode, so the player needs to win 6 more, not 5 as sometimes misstated). LeBron James' future is laid out by the game meaning players' choices are somewhat predetermined.

Reader's Guide

When playing as the Miami Heat in NBA 2K14, players should utilize the new signature skills available, particularly the "LeBron Coast to Coast" skill if they have the pre-order bonus. The game introduces new passing mechanics where players can pass by holding a trigger and pressing a control stick in the direction they want to pass, including blind passes. The "Training Camp" mode is available to guide players in mastering these new controls. For MyCareer mode, training drills now have their own menu, meaning players don't have to return to the main menu to do multiple training sessions.

The game features more than 50 hours of new commentary from Kevin Harlan, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr, with new draft night audio and new "MyCareer" voiceovers. Note that the "LeBron: Path to Greatness" mode is only available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows versions, not on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions. Also, an Always Online DRM patch was added for the PS4 and Xbox One versions requiring users to be connected to 2K servers to play MyCareer and MyGM modes, but this patch is not available on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions.