Quick answer
If NBA 2K27's Daily Pick 'Em says "games in progress", won't open, or only shows tomorrow's games, the problem almost always sits on 2K's side. You can't fix it from your end. The kiosk runs on the real NBA schedule. It had nothing to offer through preseason and the WNBA playoffs, and on opening night (Tuesday, October 20, 2026) players found it either locked or already showing the next day's slate. So here's what to do: make your picks early in the day, before the first tip-off; if the screen says games are in progress, back out and come back after that day's games are final; and check that 2K's online services are up. NBA 2K26's kiosk had the same start-of-season trouble last year, and a fix was reported on opening day.
The kiosk is worth fixing because it holds 12 of NBA 2K27's 600 Lifetime Challenges. The top rung needs 400 correct predictions, and the regular season only runs 1,230 games. Everything below applies to Season 2 on Update 2.0, checked October 21, 2026.
Key numbers at a glance:
- 12 Daily Pick 'Em Lifetime Challenges, from "make a prediction" up to 400 correct
- 1,230 games in the 2026-27 NBA regular season, October 20, 2026 to April 11, 2027 (nba.com)
- 667 picks needed to reach 400 correct if you're right 60% of the time, or 54% of the season
- 3 games on opening night (Celtics at Pistons, 76ers at Knicks, Thunder at Spurs), one short of the 4-game minimum for the "perfect day" challenge
Why is NBA 2K27 Daily Pick 'Em not working?
Daily Pick 'Em is the kiosk where you predict the winners of that day's real NBA games. Correct picks count toward Lifetime Challenges, and players report VC rewards too. Because it depends on the live NBA calendar, it fails in a few predictable ways. Here are the four you're most likely to see, with what's behind each one:
| What you see | What's actually happening | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Kiosk won't open or shows no games | No real NBA games to predict yet (preseason, offseason, WNBA playoffs) or the slate hasn't loaded | Wait for the regular-season slate; it began October 20 |
| "Games are in progress" | That day's games have started, and picks appear to be closed | Pick before the first tip-off; otherwise come back after the games are final |
| Only tomorrow's games appear | The kiosk has already rolled to the next slate | Make tomorrow's picks now; they still count |
| Stuck on a screen for days, or no VC after correct picks | A real bug on 2K's side | Restart, check 2K server status, report it to 2K Support |
On opening night, the "tomorrow's games" behavior is what most players actually hit. One player who couldn't get in before the October 20 games posted an update a little later: "They have it up but it's for tomorrow's games lol." Another described the most common error word for word: "Says 'games are in progress'… so unbelievably annoying. Missing out on opportunities to get VC and lifetime challenges." (Both from r/NBA2k, October 20, 2026.)
The timing trap. Opening day had a 3 p.m. ET tip-off (Celtics at Pistons, per nba.com). If the kiosk only shows a slate until its first game starts, anyone who logs on after work in the US finds it already closed. Weekend and holiday slates that start early make this worse. On Christmas Day 2026, the first game tips at 12 p.m. ET.
How do you fix Daily Pick 'Em "games in progress" in 2K27?
There's no setting that unlocks a slate that has already closed, but these steps clear every client-side cause:
- Pick early. Make your predictions in the morning, before the first tip-off, not at night. If the kiosk shows tomorrow's games, make those picks right away.
- Back out and re-enter the kiosk. Players report the kiosk coming back later in the day, sometimes on the next slate.
- Fully close and restart NBA 2K27. A stale session can hold an old kiosk state. Restart the game, not just The City.
- Check 2K's online services. If MyCAREER or MyTEAM menus are also slow, the issue is server-side. 2K Support's NBA 2K Server Status article links to its live page of known platform and mode issues, and our NBA 2K27 error codes and server fix guide covers connection errors.
- Don't use the NBA 2K HQ app for it. Players on r/NBA2k asked on opening night why they couldn't make picks from HQ. As of October 21, 2K's HQ support pages cover the builder, social tools and daily login rewards and streaks, and don't mention Pick 'Em at all.
- If it's stuck for days, report it. One player wrote that theirs "has been stuck for 2 weeks." That's not normal behavior. File a ticket with 2K Support and include your platform and the exact message on screen.
Has 2K fixed this before? Yes. NBA 2K26's Daily Pick 'Em was also broken at the start of last season, and NBA 2K tracker The2KCentral posted "The Daily Pick 'Em has been fixed in NBA 2K26" on October 21, 2025 (X). 2K hasn't posted a fix note for 2K27 yet, so treat a quick fix as likely but not promised.
Why does Daily Pick 'Em show old teams like the Bobcats and New Jersey Nets?
This is the other kiosk bug everyone is posting about. On October 20 the most-upvoted Pick 'Em thread on r/NBA2k was a screenshot titled "Daily Pick 'em from 2014". Players described the kiosk showing New Jersey Nets, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Bullets and Kansas City Kings names and old logos on the matchups. Those names span several decades, so this isn't a single 2014 roster file. The kiosk looks like it's pulling team art from the wrong data set.
It looks like a cosmetic bug. As far as players can tell, the matchup underneath is still the real game on tonight's NBA schedule: a "Bobcats" game is the Charlotte Hornets game. Pick by the matchup and tip-off time, not the logo. 2K hasn't commented on it, so check the date and time against the real schedule if anything looks off.
What are all 12 Daily Pick 'Em Lifetime Challenges in NBA 2K27?
Daily Pick 'Em is one of 19 Lifetime Challenge sections, and its 12 challenges are some of the easiest ones to bank, because each pick is a few taps at the kiosk. Here's the full ladder as listed by NBA2KLab's Lifetime Challenges tracker (checked October 21, 2026):
| # | Challenge | When you'll realistically clear it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Make a prediction at the Daily Pick'Em kiosk | First day the kiosk opens for you |
| 2 | Get all of your predictions correct in a single day (min. 4 games) | Any night with 4+ games, ideally a small slate |
| 3 | Make 3 correct predictions | Day 1–2 |
| 4 | Make 10 correct predictions | Week 1 |
| 5 | Make 25 correct predictions | Week 1–2 |
| 6 | Make 50 correct predictions | Around 2 weeks of daily picks |
| 7 | Make 75 correct predictions | Early November |
| 8 | Make 100 correct predictions | Mid-November |
| 9 | Make 150 correct predictions | Late November |
| 10 | Make 200 correct predictions | Early December |
| 11 | Make 300 correct predictions | Late December |
| 12 | Make 400 correct predictions | Late January at the earliest; only with near-daily picks |
The "when" column assumes you pick every game at roughly 60% accuracy. It's our estimate, not a 2K figure. Lifetime Challenges are account-wide and don't reset by Season, so every correct pick counts toward the full 600. That ladder pays out +1 Cap Breaker at 200 and 400 total challenges, 500,000 VC at 500 and 5,000,000 VC at 600, and you need 300 for Anthony Edwards' GOAT Build. Our Anthony Edwards GOAT Build guide maps all 19 sections.
The perfect-day challenge. This one needs every pick right on a day with at least four games, so take it on the smallest slate you can find. A 4-game night is far easier to sweep than a 12-game Saturday. Opening night had only 3 games, so it couldn't count. Look for 4–5 game nights early in the week, and pick heavy favorites.
Can you actually get 400 correct Pick 'Em predictions before the season ends?
Yes, but only if you keep picking. This is the one challenge in the section that punishes skipped days. The NBA regular season runs 1,230 games between October 20, 2026 and April 11, 2027 (nba.com). Once the regular season ends, there are only playoff games left to predict. You need 400 ÷ your accuracy total picks:
| Your accuracy | Total picks needed | Share of the regular season |
|---|---|---|
| 50% (coin flip) | 800 | 65% |
| 55% | 727 | 59% |
| 60% | 667 | 54% |
| 65% | 615 | 50% |
| 70% | 571 | 46% |
Spread evenly across 174 days, that's about 7 games a day. At 60% accuracy that's roughly 4 correct picks per day:
- Pick every game, every day: you hit 400 around January 22.
- Pick two days out of three: around March 11.
- Pick two or three days a week: roughly 210 to 320 correct by April 11 (the chart line is about 296), so you miss 400 in the regular season.
This is a simple even-spread model. Real slates are bunched (big Friday/Saturday nights, a few empty days during the All-Star break, February 19–24, 2027), so treat the dates as a guide, not a promise. The takeaway: the days you lose while the kiosk is broken cost you real progress toward 400. If it's working, make your picks every day, even the ones you're not sure about. A coin-flip pick still has a 50% chance of counting, and a skipped day has none.
How do you pick better in Daily Pick 'Em?
You don't need to be a sharp bettor. You just need to beat a coin flip. Three habits get most people to the 60% assumed above:
- Back home favorites and rested teams. Teams on the second night of a back-to-back, or at the end of a long road trip, are the classic upset spots.
- Check injury news before you lock in. A late scratch of a star changes the game more than anything else. Making your picks in the morning gives you the most time to check, and also gets you in before the slate locks.
- On "perfect day" attempts, skip the toss-ups. If the kiosk makes you pick every game on the slate, wait for a night with mostly lopsided matchups.
Is Daily Pick 'Em worth it for VC?
For Lifetime Challenges, clearly yes. For VC, think of it as a small daily bonus, not a grind. Players report VC for correct picks, but 2K hasn't published per-pick amounts for NBA 2K27, so we won't guess a number. The bigger VC is further up the Lifetime ladder (500,000 at 500 challenges and 5,000,000 at 600), and Pick 'Em is one of the cheapest ways to climb it. Pair it with your other daily routines. Daily Rivals and the Rivals Ticket and the Daily Spin both take a minute, and our legit VC earning guide and Season 2 leveling guide cover the rest. Never hand your login to any site or video that promises VC or auto-completed challenges. 2K Support says account sharing and third-party access break its Code of Conduct, and 2K is unlikely to help if the account gets taken.
Want more NBA 2K27 help? We cover every Season 2 build, event and fix.
FAQ
Why does NBA 2K27 Daily Pick 'Em say games are in progress? It means the day's slate has already tipped off and picks are closed. Make your picks earlier in the day, before the first game starts. If you missed it, come back after the games are final, when the kiosk should roll to the next slate.
Why can't I do Daily Pick 'Em in NBA 2K27 during preseason? Because the kiosk uses the real NBA regular-season schedule. It wasn't open for preseason or the WNBA playoffs, and the 2026-27 regular season only began on October 20, 2026.
Where is the Daily Pick 'Em kiosk in NBA 2K27? It's a kiosk in The City, and "access a Daily Pick 'Em kiosk in The City" also shows up as a Daily Challenge. You need to walk your MyPLAYER to it. Players say you can't make picks in the NBA 2K HQ app.
Do Daily Pick 'Em Lifetime Challenges reset in Season 2? No. Lifetime Challenges are account-wide and don't reset by Season, so every correct pick you make all year counts toward the 400-correct rung and the 600-challenge ladder.
Why does Daily Pick 'Em show the Bobcats, Bullets and New Jersey Nets? It's a display bug players reported on opening night. The kiosk shows old team names and logos, but the matchups appear to be tonight's real games. Pick by matchup and tip-off time, not the logo, until 2K patches it.
How many Daily Pick 'Em picks do I need for 400 correct? It's 400 divided by your accuracy: about 667 picks at 60%, or 54% of the 1,230-game regular season. Picking every game every day gets you there around late January.
_Last checked October 21, 2026 (NBA 2K27 Season 2, Update 2.0, day 2 of the 2026-27 NBA regular season). Challenge list from NBA2KLab; NBA dates from nba.com; player reports from r/NBA2k. We'll update this if 2K posts a fix._
