Honestly, if you are a basketball fan you have to check out this game.
It doesn't matter though because this game is going to amaze you.Graphics and animation are the best in the business. Gameplay has been greatly improved from last season. Remember all of the bugs that plagued 2K10? Well, most of them are gone.
My player mode can still be annoying at times but like i said it is better this time around. Now you can actually see how much you need to improve to get from a letter grade to the next. The only thing that bothers me quite a bit is that they really punish you for holding on to the ball for more than a few seconds. Unlike 2k10 you won't get called for "excessive" demand for the ball for simply taping X a couple of times. You really have to be a ball hog this time around to get punished for that.
As far as defense goes it is excellent in my opinion and it is the main reason i keep playing My player mode. Staying with your defender and locking him down is challenging but fun. Although sometimes it can get frustrating when your opponent just gets into a hot streak and you get punished because he scored on a tough fadeaway shot. In these cases the game just tells you that either you played "good shot defense" or you "allowed your opposition to score" There seems to be some inconsistencies right there.
Overall the game is top notch though. The Michael Jordan experience lives up to the hype. A stunning game. Very worth the full price but you can probably get it now for around 30 bucks.