A few small but welcome new additions make this the best NBA game you'll get on PS2.
The new hot zones system gives you a little meter below the player you are controlling, which fills up depending on where you are on the court. For example, Ben Gordon's will fill up just outside the 3 point line, where as Luol Deng's will go right up when in the midrange. Its a small feature but nice none the less..
The Association has lots of new stats and awards (player of the month, rookie of the month ect.), as well as the player ambitions system from the next gen games. It has an NBA.com style news page giving you info from around the league, be it injuries.. rivalries and all the results. Its a nice touch that adds a little more depth and makes the mode more fun to play.
The graphics have improved a little in game, the frame rate is now rock solid at all times. The menus and general presentation is much nicer than last year too.
The game plays pretty much the same as last year, unfortunately the layup bug seems to have not been sorted.. but its easy to do it yourself by going to the sliders and setting layups to about 90 for both teams. That should sort it out.. Overall I think the game plays better than last year, its less glitchy and just seems to run a little better. Also I've noticed playing offense is a little tougher, the defense is more effective than 2K8's and you have to pick your shots better.
There are more sig shots this time and there is a bigger variety of shots in general. The standard jump shot has been changed, gone is the strange leg kick thing and now its just a normalish straight up shot. I think there is about 3 different types of the standard jumper (depending on type of player).. which adds some variety.
The way the player ratings work have been altered a bit too. Now instead of just dunk, block etc.. you have all sorts of new ratings like vertical, hustle, hands, shoot off dribble.. All this helps improve the way players act on court.. And really helps if you want to edit players to bring them up to date and make them play realistically..
Overall I'm quite pleased by 2K9 on the ps2.. It seems like 2K sports have actually taken a bit of time and make some genuine improvements.. which I wasnt expecting. Theres nothing huge, but lots of nice additions here and there that add up.
There are still some problems, but nothing that ruin the game.. Worth buying if your an NBA fan who hasnt yet got a PS2/360.. and not a fan of the Thunder.