NBA Live 09 is a simulation of the basketball sport. As usual, the player controls the athletes himself and tries to perform typical basketball maneuvers with his gamepad. The main difference from the PS2 version is that every new feature described in other versions is missing. This means the game is more or less the same as NBA Live 08 .
The player can choose between playing a whole season, play-offs, or the FIBA World Championship. In the Dynasty Mode, the player takes the role of the executive of a basketball team, which means they have to grapple with managerial tasks like transfers or training.