Can you request a trade in NBA 2K25?

NBA 2K25’s MyCAREER mode gives you complete freedom to choose which team you play for. But if you’re unhappy with your initial choice and wish to request a trade, your options are much more limited.

NBA 2K25 throws out the Draft concept altogether and allows you to pick a team for your MyPLAYER to join during character creation. This is a somewhat conflicting approach as the Draft was a pretty big deal in previous iterations of the game, but the main argument for the new system is that you can set yourself up in the perfect environment to succeed. What happens if you get it wrong, though?

Can you request a trade in NBA 2K25?

Normally, when you’re unhappy with your team, you’d want to get out, but you can’t actually do that in NBA 2K25. You can’t request a trade, at least not initially. If you look around the MyCAREER section of the menu, where the trade request option has been in years prior, you’ll see that it’s missing. So, are you locked into a one-team type of career? No, but you’ll have to persevere for a while.

When can you request a trade in NBA 2K25?

The earliest you can request a trade in NBA 2K25 is after completing two full seasons. You can do that by winning two championships in your first two seasons, which is counterintuitive, to say the least. If you’re desperate to request a trade, you’re probably not on course to win a bag of chips, let alone back-to-back rings.

The requirement for requesting a trade is to win two championships with your starting team, regardless of the time frame you do it in. Failing to start your career with a couple of titles would extend your wait to get traded beyond the second season.

Thankfully, there’s another way to leave your team without needing to trade. You can switch teams in NBA 2K25 by entering free agency after your rookie deal. This happens after the second season and is the surest way to leave your current team as quickly as possible.

Can you change your jersey number in NBA 2K25?

Another consequence of this system is that you can’t have your preferred jersey number if another player on the team you’ve joined has already taken it. You won’t be able to get your favorite number until you or the player who’s currently occupying it switches teams. It’s a surprisingly rigid system in a game that allows you to customize everything, from your dunk animations to how you walk and run down the court.