Last year i had NBA Live, and enjoyed it in the majority. This year i decided to have a look in detail at the reviews/previews/demos of the two games against each other before i made a decision.
I decided to go with 2K for the first time and ive not been disappointed so far, controls are difficult to get used to (having played nba live for years) but once you get them down they are nice and smooth. Gameplay, graphics and in-game comentary/effects are really really good.
I would certainly advise people to choose this over nba live. Only gave it 4 stars as some of the menu's are difficult to navigate and a tad sloppy in presentation.