NBA 2k26 Performance

[masoo123]

Since the last NBA 2K26 update (v1.4 on Sept 18, 2025), the game has started stuttering badly on my PC, even though I’m running an i7-14700KF, RTX 4070, and 64GB RAM. FPS looks stable, but offline modes like Play Now and MyNBA feel really choppy. Oddly, if I swap to an older modded exe, the game runs perfectly smooth. Online with the official exe also feels smoother, so it seems like the new patch broke offline frame pacing or presentation. I’ve tried everything — shader cache reset, reinstall, file verify, clean drivers — nothing fixes it. Looks like this started only with the latest update. Anyone else seeing this?

[Ramonxu]

I have exactly the same problem. My FPS in 4K is around 100-120 fps, and then suddenly the game slows down and the frame rate drops for a few seconds. It's VERY annoying, so much so that I've stopped playing lately.

[masoo123]

I think whenever 2k updates the game I'm going to see if the issues is fixed. I hate it man. Did it start happing after the update for you as well?

[Ramonxu]

I was already noticing strange things before the update, but it got worse with 1.4. Yesterday they released new NVIDIA drivers and things have improved a little, but it's still the same. There are noticeable micro-cuts in the game. And when I remove the vsync, it runs at 120-130 fps (I just checked) in 4K and by modifying the NVIDIA settings to get even better graphics. The game runs really well in terms of FPS, but it has those annoying stutters that they should fix, because it's really frustrating. The worst thing is that 2K hasn't said anything since the game was released, which is personally disappointing.

[masoo123]

Going to try to update my motherboard bios and see if that helps but idk man. I’m trying to simply update Windows 11 and I can’t even do that right now. Tuff times man

[Ramonxu]

I have everything updated, and there is sporadic stuttering after clearing the background for some reason. It's the game.

[Dee4Three]

The 4000 series Nvidia GPUs were the biggest issue last year. I saw countless reports of performance issues with them.

Hopefully things stabilize and get better for you and other users of those GPUs. There were issues with AMD 9000 series GPUs at 2K26 launch, but they patched through a fix and I have not seen any complaints since.

[Ramonxu]

The 4000 series Nvidia GPUs were the biggest issue last year. I saw countless reports of performance issues with them.

Hopefully things stabilize and get better for you and other users of those GPUs. There were issues with AMD 9000 series GPUs at 2K26 launch, but they patched through a fix and I have not seen any complaints since.

I have a 5070. For now, I've uninstalled the game and left the mods folder so I can keep adding them while I wait for a patch to be released to fix the stuttering.

[Dee4Three]

I have

AMD Radeon 6650XT GPU
AMD Ryzen 3700x CPU
16GB of RAM

The game runs buttery smooth for me at 1080p60fps.

However, if you do have stuttering issues, turning your shader detail down to medium might fix the problem.

[Ramonxu]

I have

AMD Radeon 6650XT GPU
AMD Ryzen 3700x CPU
16GB of RAM

The game runs buttery smooth for me at 1080p60fps.

However, if you do have stuttering issues, turning your shader detail down to medium might fix the problem.

I play it in 4K at 120-130 fps, and even then, stuttering sometimes magically appears. It's a problem with the game, which they should patch, but they're doing absolutely nothing about it. It's a shame that something so simple hasn't been patched yet.

[masoo123]

Appreciate y’all’s feedback I guess it a RTX 4070 or RTX 40 problem in general. Has anything changed for you in the update? I put the max frame rate at 160fps the game plays pretty smoothly now but still stutters for some reason. Do I need to rebuild the shaders and decrease the shaders to see real improvement or something? Idk

[Andrew]

Considering a couple of the patches have included attempts to improve performance in the PC version, it's possible there are still some issues with certain cards. Hopefully, the fixes will keep coming and will ultimately be successful.

In the meantime, you might want to try some of the tweaks in this video:

phpBB [video]

It is a month old though, so obviously it predates the latest patch.

[tobay2k]

Just got the game a couple of days ago and there's definitely sth wrong with the performance. I'm using a Ryzen 5 5600x, RTX 2080ti, 16GB, the game is installed on a SSD and the frame pacing is bad despite having 90-130 fps all the time. There's also a weird stutter happening during every "after basket camera cut" which is so annoying. Happens as well on the lowest settings. Tried all trouble shooting already, nothing fixes it. 2K25 had a similar performance issue for 1-2 months after rls where it was stuttering after a basket was scored which was as annoying. It then was fixed with a hotfix patch and was gone for good. Might be a Nvidia exlusive issue once again. It's super annoying and frustrating, can't enjoy playnow like this. Was almost about to refund already... shame on 2k.

[Dmayne]

Just got the game a couple of days ago and there's definitely sth wrong with the performance. I'm using a Ryzen 5 5600x, RTX 2080ti, 16GB, the game is installed on a SSD and the frame pacing is bad despite having 90-130 fps all the time. There's also a weird stutter happening during every "after basket camera cut" which is so annoying. Happens as well on the lowest settings. Tried all trouble shooting already, nothing fixes it. 2K25 had a similar performance issue for 1-2 months after rls where it was stuttering after a basket was scored which was as annoying. It then was fixed with a hotfix patch and was gone for good. Might be a Nvidia exlusive issue once again. It's super annoying and frustrating, can't enjoy playnow like this. Was almost about to refund already... shame on 2k.

2k suggests:
Open the VideoSettings.cfg file in a text editor, like Notepad.
Find the line "ALLOW_GPU_UPLOAD_HEAPS": true,
Change the "true" to "false" so that it now says "ALLOW_GPU_UPLOAD_HEAPS": false,
Save the file.
Relaunch the game to see if that has any affect on your crashes/freezes.

You could also try going to features/settings and turn off/disable:
-camera shake
-action replays
-highlight play camera cuts
-after basket camera cuts
-arena photo strobe flashes

[johnwest1985]

You others also get blurry sidelines and crowds and also when players step out of bound ? I tried messing around with the settings without any succes. Seems like 2k did this on purpose.

[tobay2k]

Just got the game a couple of days ago and there's definitely sth wrong with the performance. I'm using a Ryzen 5 5600x, RTX 2080ti, 16GB, the game is installed on a SSD and the frame pacing is bad despite having 90-130 fps all the time. There's also a weird stutter happening during every "after basket camera cut" which is so annoying. Happens as well on the lowest settings. Tried all trouble shooting already, nothing fixes it. 2K25 had a similar performance issue for 1-2 months after rls where it was stuttering after a basket was scored which was as annoying. It then was fixed with a hotfix patch and was gone for good. Might be a Nvidia exlusive issue once again. It's super annoying and frustrating, can't enjoy playnow like this. Was almost about to refund already... shame on 2k.

2k suggests:
Open the VideoSettings.cfg file in a text editor, like Notepad.
Find the line "ALLOW_GPU_UPLOAD_HEAPS": true,
Change the "true" to "false" so that it now says "ALLOW_GPU_UPLOAD_HEAPS": false,
Save the file.
Relaunch the game to see if that has any affect on your crashes/freezes.

You could also try going to features/settings and turn off/disable:
-camera shake
-action replays
-highlight play camera cuts
-after basket camera cuts
-arena photo strobe flashes

Thanks for the help! I tried everything of that already though, nothing fixes it. Except the config change but guess what, it was already on false by default. It's the same issue 25 had back in the days, only 2K can fix it with a patch.

[tobay2k]

You others also get blurry sidelines and crowds and also when players step out of bound ? I tried messing around with the settings without any succes. Seems like 2k did this on purpose.

Yep, that new depth of field look seems to be an intentional art decision from 2K this year. Also not sure yet whether I like it or not.

[Dee4Three]

Just got the game a couple of days ago and there's definitely sth wrong with the performance. I'm using a Ryzen 5 5600x, RTX 2080ti, 16GB, the game is installed on a SSD and the frame pacing is bad despite having 90-130 fps all the time. There's also a weird stutter happening during every "after basket camera cut" which is so annoying. Happens as well on the lowest settings. Tried all trouble shooting already, nothing fixes it. 2K25 had a similar performance issue for 1-2 months after rls where it was stuttering after a basket was scored which was as annoying. It then was fixed with a hotfix patch and was gone for good. Might be a Nvidia exlusive issue once again. It's super annoying and frustrating, can't enjoy playnow like this. Was almost about to refund already... shame on 2k.

In order to eliminate the stutter on camera cuts, try putting shader detail on medium.

To improve pacing and remove stutters/choppiness, turn vsync on and lock in your framerate (example, 1080p@60fps). Also, make sure your monitor refresh rate matches your in game refresh rate.

I've heard about issues with Nvidia cards over the last two years as it relates to the items you mentioned. Hopefully some of the tips in here will help.