So, as we head towards the end of an entire generation where MyCAREER (and now MyGM) is built around a story-driven approach...what does everyone think of the stories?
I'll admit that my perspective has softened a little thanks to some of the better efforts in MyCAREER. The stories in NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K19 have had great production values without interfering with the overall experience too much, and featured a few genuinely entertaining and amusing moments. I can certainly give credit where it's due for the amount of effort that goes into them.
However, I still have many of the same gripes as I did when the concept was unveiled in NBA 2K14 on PS4/X1. The story is rigid, without many meaningful decisions and branching options. The character you're given isn't necessarily one that you can relate to, and the way they act in cutscenes on rails can easily differ from the character you roleplay as when you can choose dialogue options and so forth. They drop fictional players into the league, which is a mixed bag as far as what it means for the gameplay experience.
I do like what they've done with MyGM in NBA 2K19, offering both the traditional take on the mode (as well as the MyLEAGUE alternative) and the story-driven version. I really believe they should do the same with MyCAREER, without having to play through the story once. I'd suggest offering incentives to play through the story (additional experience and opportunities to earn VC being obvious examples), but allow the story to be skipped from the start if gamers want a more streamlined career mode experience.
If I had to rank the MyCAREER stories from best to worst, just based on the quality of the tales themselves, I'd say NBA 2K17, NBA 2K19, NBA 2K16 (though I don't like how it cuts down your rookie season), NBA 2K14, NBA 2K15, and NBA 2K18 distantly in last place (though it's at least doesn't interfere with gameplay as much as the stories in NBA 2K14-16). Accounting for how they affect gameplay: NBA 2K17, NBA 2K19, NBA 2K18, NBA 2K16, NBA 2K14, NBA 2K15.