Using the And 1-style combos is simple to execute, and you’re rewarded with an entertaining and humorous animation showing you using ball tricks to humiliate your opponent. The animations are a little elongated, but there’s plenty of variety to keep it fresh. Some of the moves can be countered defensively by pressing the A button, or in an act a fool combo, by pressing the button sequence that appears on the screen faster than your opponent.

You can also string combos together (and play good defense) to build up your super move meter. You can build up to three levels of super moves: the first level lets you execute a super juke or steal, the second level gives you a super shot or block, and the third level gives you a super dunk. When you execute a super move, you’re taken off the court to a surreal highlight-style cut scene where the action plays out like something out of The Matrix. Although they’re cool to watch the first time or two, some of these cut scenes take several seconds, and there’s no way to bypass them.

The biggest problem with playing the Chosen One is that the game becomes less about basketball and more about executing combos and counters. It almost feels like a fighting game instead of a basketball game at times, as you button-mash against your opponent to trigger the next highlight move. More control over the moves should be in your hands as a player, as opposed to seeing canned animations all of the time.

In addition to Story mode, the game offers traditional playground games where you can play one-on-one, two-on-two, twenty-one, and so forth. You can play this way on Live, too, and a nice touch is that you can use your created baller online. Practice mode and a shootout mode are also included.

Street basketball is all about over the top game play. However, it’s more fun when you feel like you’re making those moves, instead of watching it unfold on the screen with minimal interaction. At times, NBA Ballers: Chosen One is more like turn based combat or a fighting game than basketball. The Story mode is very well done, with high production values and an engrossing environment, but the basketball play itself is not as exciting as it could be.

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