NBA Playgrounds - all new gameplay details

- inspired by both NBA Jam and NBA Street
- swipe at the ball to try to steal it from an opponent
- shove the player to knock it loose
- you need to have some of your sprint meter to do this
- if you shoot while sprinting toward the hoop, your player will attempt a dunk
- over 300 different dunks
- includes a crossover dribble move, which is done with the right analog stick
- as you sink baskets and play good defense, you’ll build a Lottery Pick meter
- once full, this meter will give you a random special ability for a limited time
- one of them will make your opponent's shot clock runs twice as fast, giving them only six seconds instead of 12
- another boost puts star icons in various locations on the court
- if you score from those spots, a multiplier will double, triple or even quadruple your point value
- can be played by four people in the same room
- will debut with two-player head-to-head play online
- four-player support coming soon in an “early update”
- big plans for post-release content additions, including roster updates
- more than 150 NBA athletes, including current players such as LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard as well as retired legends like Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing
- game’s progression mechanic is focused on unlocking the entire roster gradually
- start with three card packs, which give you five players each, and you earn a new pack each time you level up
- no microtransactions
- if there’s a demand for the ability to buy card packs, Saber can add that feature later
- each of the 30 NBA teams has at least three active players, plus retired athletes
- Saber aims to add hundreds more in post-release updates
- earn experience for individual players, which gradually unlocks new moves like dunk animations
- at launch, NBA Playgrounds will offer tournament modes for offline and online play, in addition to one-off exhibition games
- planned additions include a dunk contest and a three-point contest