2K26 Roster Depth Across Decades

[jfran1524]

Hello all,

I am the guy who posted in the 2K25 forums last year about how feasible it would be to have 1970s, 1960s, or even 1950s Eras in the future based on who was in the game in 2K25. There's not much change on that front as far as 2K26 is concerned. Most of the players added in 2K26, and there were quite a few of them, were from the 1980s-2010s.

I'm not trying to shill for 2K. I try to encourage them, because quite frankly, I want MyNBA Eras to someday be as deep and all encompassing as it can be. I would see people blindly shout down how feasible a late 1970s Era would be based on "they're old and dead" vibes. I prefer a data-based approach, and that's why I rolled up my sleeves and gathered as much of it as I could.

Something I've been looking into recently is a way to express just how deep (or not so deep, in some cases) the 2K26 rosters are across decades. I posted about this on Twitter the other day and it went over like a lead balloon, so hopefully somewhere here will find this interesting. I'm @JustinFrancis7 on Twitter if this stuff interests you at all.

Anyway, I used Basketball-Reference and my own extensive review of all the Eras rosters, historic draft classes, all-time teams, classic teams, and MyTeam to determine how many guys who played in each decade from the 1950s thru the 2010s can be found in 2K26. Keep in mind that many guys played in multiple decades, so they will be accounted for here in multiple decades, which I think is fair. Also, I excluded from my calculations guys who ONLY played in the ABA. 2K26 only has one ABA-only player (Bob Netolicky), so this will only account for guys who checked in to at least one BAA/NBA game.

On to the stats:

As of 1/19/2026, 5,075 different men have played in the BAA/NBA. At least 2,030 of them are in 2K26 on the default offline rosters or are in MyTeam (there's some two-way guys and undrafted rookies I haven't accounted for yet; I focus mostly on the Eras rosters as the current season changes too much for me to keep up with).

40% of everyone to ever play in a BAA/NBA game can be found in 2K26.

Now let's look at each decade:

I found 489 guys played in the NBA during the 1950s. 26 of them, or only 5%, are available in 2K26. A rough start, but it gets better from there.

I found 394 guys played in the NBA during the 1960s (the league stabilized at only 8 teams, and those BAA days saw A LOT of player turnover). 107 of them, or 27%, are available in 2K26. That, to me, is a promising number. More than 1 in every 4 guys to play in the NBA during the 1960s can be found officially licensed in 2K26. Not bad for 55-65 years ago.

I found 730 guys played in the NBA during the 1970s. 269 of them, or just under 37%, are available in 2K26. That's more than 1 in every 3 guys who played in the 1970s. Now we are getting somewhere.

I found 880 guys played in the NBA during the 1980s. 440 of them, or exactly 50%, are available in 2K26. One half of everyone who played in the NBA during the 1980s are in 2K26. I'm accounting for guys who only played 1 career NBA minute, which can skew the data, yet we're still at 50% for an entire decade from 35-45 years ago.

I found 1,016 guys played in the NBA during the 1990s. 577 of them, or just under 57%, are available in 2K26. Still trending upwards.

I found 1,092 guys played in the NBA during the 2000s. 689 of them, or 63%, are available in 2K26. Nearly 2 out of every 3 guys to play in the NBA during the 2000s is licensed in 2K26. That's kind of a staggering number to me, really.

I found 1,238 guys played in the NBA during the 2010s. 650 of them, or 52.5%, are available in 2K26. That's a steep drop off from the just a decade prior and is even lower than the 1990s. I image this has to do with a lot of the guys from the end of this decade recently falling out of the league, trying to get back in, and not yet being licensed in as a retired player.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!