Traditionally, there are a few things to check and try here:
- You may have insufficient hard drive space, in which case free some up by deleting/moving non-essential files.
- Connections being blocked by security software, in which case you should try disabling your anti-virus/firewall software, including Windows' in-built solutions.
- You can also try removing SYNC.BIN from the game's local folder under Steam\userdata, so that the game has to download updates fresh.
However, after troubleshooting on all those fronts, the issue persists. It appears that it's a common one: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1644960/ ... 563904441/
Furthermore, it's currently affecting NBA 2K20 and NBA 2K21 as well. Like others in that Steam Community thread, I've tried running tracert, as suggested here: https://support.2k.com/hc/en-us/article ... R-4B538E50
I've likewise encountered the timeout errors upon reaching Akamai.com, which seems to be the stalling point for other people as well.
It would appear that a common factor here is not running Windows 10. I've personally been sticking with Windows 7 beyond the end of support due to its flexibility in running some older games that utilise a disc copy protection driver that's been removed in Windows 10, though it's clearly getting to the point where I need to bite the bullet and upgrade. Nevertheless, it's a point worth mentioning, especially as Windows 7 and 8.1 are officially supported by NBA 2K22, as per the system requirements.
To that point, if you aren't running Windows 10 and upgrading isn't an option, it may be an idea to hit up 2K Support or a developer so that they're aware of the issue. In any case, that's what the situation appears to be right now. If you're encountering that issue even after trying the usual troubleshooting methods, you're not alone. I'll be keeping track of the issue in this topic. Feel free to share ideas and experiences, particularly if you have actually encountered the same problem on Windows 10. As I said though, it seems to be an issue that's affecting Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users at this time.