All badges in NBA 2K23 and their effects explained

NBA 2K23 gives the player more opportunities to affect the game in different ways than ever before. The main driving force behind this variety is player badges. These badges are the primary modifier when defining what your MyPlayer’s play style will be. There are dozens upon dozens of them in NBA 2K23, but that doesn’t scare us. We will explain the effect of every badge in NBA 2K23.

There are 64 badges in NBA 2K23. It’s easy to get lost in these large numbers. For our convenience, 2K Games split them into four main categories: shooting, finishing, defensive and rebounding, and playmaking badges. You should choose which ones you attach to your build based on how you want to play.

Some choices are instinctive. It’s fairly obvious that spending resources on rebounding badges as a 6-foot point guard is redundant. With 16 badges in each category, though, picking the optimal ones becomes a more precise process, going way beyond “rebounding bad, playmaking good.”

There’s no better start to choosing the best badges for you than learning what all of them do. So without further ado, here are all 64 badges in NBA 2K23 and their effects.

All shooting badges in NBA 2K23

• Claymore – Increases the ability to knock down perimeter shots when spotting up patiently.
• Clutch Shooter – Shot attempts that occur during the final moments of the fourth quarter, or in any overtime period, receive a large boost.
• Comeback Kid – Boosts mid-range and three-point shooting while trailing in a game.
• Corner Specialist – Three-pointers taken from the corner spot, whether off the dribble or off a catch, receive a boost.
• Guard Up – Increases the ability to make jump shots when defenders fail to properly contest.
• Middy Magician – Boosts the effectiveness of pull-ups, spin shots, and fadeaways from the mid-range area.
• Slippery Off-Ball – When attempting to get open off screens, the player more effectively navigates through traffic.
• Volume Shooter – After a player has taken a small handful of shots, an additional boost to shot attributes is given for every subsequent shot, whether it is a make or a miss.
• Amped – Reduces the penalty that fatigue has on a player and their ability to make shots.
• Catch and Shoot – For a short time after receiving a pass, the receiver’s ability to knock down threes gets a significant boost.
• Green Machine – Gives an additional shot boost when consecutively achieving excellent releases on jump shots.
• Space Creator – Increases a player’s ability to both hit shots after creating space from the defender, as well as cross up an opponent on step-back moves.
• Blinders – Jump shots taken while a defender is contesting from the side or from the back suffer a lower accuracy penalty.
• Limitless Range – Extends the range from which a player can shoot three-pointers effectively.
• Agent 3 – Improves the ability to make pull-up and spin jumpers from three-point range.
• Deadeye – Improves the ability to make shots that are contested by a closing defender.

All finishing badges in NBA 2K23

• Acrobat – Spin, hop step, euro-step, cradle, reverse, and change shot layup attempts receive a boost. Additionally, the ability to beat defenders with gathers is improved.
• Aerial Wizard – Increases the ability to finish an alley-oop from a teammate, or a putback finish off an offensive rebound.
• Backdown Punisher – Allows players to have more success than normal when backing down a defender while posting up.
• Bully – Improves a player’s ability to initiate contact and get to the rim on layup attempts.
• Dream Shake – Post move fakes have a higher chance of stunning a defender. Also, shot attempts following fakes, shimmies, and shot fakes have an increased shot percentage.
• Dropstepper – Allows for more success when attempting post dropsteps and hop steps, in addition to protecting the ball better while performing these moves in the post.
• Fast Twitch – Speeds up the ability to get standing layups or dunks off before the defense has time to contest.
• Fearless Finisher – Strengthens a player’s ability to absorb contact and still finish. Also reduces the amount of energy lost from contact layups.
• Giant Slayer – Boosts the shot percentage for a layup attempt when mismatched against a taller defender and reduces the possibility of getting blocked.
• Limitless Takeoff – When attacking the basket, a player with the badge will start their dunk attempt from farther out than others.
• Masher – Improves a player’s ability to finish well around the rim, especially over smaller defenders.
• Posterizer – Increases the chances of throwing down a dunk on your defender.
• Post Spin Technician – Attempting to do post spins or drives result in more effective moves, and less of a chance to be stripped.
• Pro Touch – Gives an extra shot boost for having slightly early, slightly late, or excellent shot timing on layups. Layup timing must be turned on.
• Rise Up – Increases the likelihood of dunking or posterizing your opponent when standing in the painted area.
• Slithery – Increases a player’s ability to slide through traffic, protect the ball from being stolen, and avoid contact during gathers and finishes at the rim.

All defensive and rebounding badges in NBA 2K23

• Anchor – Improves ability to block and contest shots in the paint.
• Ankle Braces – Lowers the likelihood of your player freezing or falling on the floor when facing dribble moves.
• Brick Wall – Increases effectiveness of screens and drains energy from opponents on physical contact. This badge makes it tougher for the defense to get through or around screens. Players hit by contact from a Brick Wall lose more energy than normal.
• Boxout Beast – Improves a player’s ability to box out and fight for a good rebounding position.
• Challenger – Improves the effectiveness of perimeter shot contests.
• Chasedown Artist – Boosts the speed and leaping ability of a player when chasing down an offensive player down the court and attempting a block from behind.
• Clamps – Boosts the ability to stay in front of the ball handler on the perimeter. Defenders have access to quicker cut-off moves and are more successful when bumping or hip riding the ball handler.
• Glove – Boosts the ability to steal the ball from ball handlers and strip players of the ball while they are gathering for a shot attempt.
• Interceptor – Increases the ability of getting steals in passing lanes. The frequency of successfully tipped or intercepted passes greatly increases.
• Menace – While guarding and staying in front of an opponent, their attributes will drop if good defense is being played.
• Off-Ball Pest – Makes your player more difficult to beat while defending off the ball. You can grab and hold your matchup to establish position and will receive increased stability when chasing your matchup around the court.
• Pick Dodger – Improves a player’s ability to navigate through screens effectively on defense.
• Pogo Stick – Allows players to quickly recover and go back up for another jump upon landing. This could be after a rebound, block attempt, or jumpshot.
• Post Lockdown – Strengthens a player’s ability to effectively defend moves in the post, with an increased chance at stripping the ball from the opponent as they are making a move.
• Rebound Chaser – Boosts your ability to track down rebounds at greater distances than normal.
• Work Horse – Increases your player’s speed and ability to track down loose balls ahead of the opponent.

All playmaking badges in NBA 2K23

• Ankle Breaker – Increases the likelihood of successful dribble moves freezing or dropping your defender to the ground.
• Break Starter – Boosts the accuracy of outlet passes made right after a defensive rebound.
• Dimer – When you find an open teammate for a shot, their shot accuracy receives a slight boost.
• Floor General – Raises all of your teammates’ offensive stats while you are on the court.
• Needle Threader – Passes made in tight spaces receive an accuracy boost.
• Post Playmaker – When you pass the ball from the post or after an offensive rebound to an open teammate, their shot accuracy receives a slight boost.
• Special Delivery – Boosts the accuracy of all alley-oops and flashy passes, as well as the receiver’s ability to convert. Enables the ability to throw alley-oops off the backboard.
• Vice Grip – Increases your defense against steals immediately after receiving the ball through a pass, rebound, or loose ball recovery.
• Bail Out – Boosts the accuracy of passes made out of double teams, attempted layups and jump shots.
• Hyperdrive – Raises the maximum speed at which your player can perform dribble moves.
• Quick First Step – Your player will launch into a drive quicker out of a size-up or triple threat.
• Unpluckable – Reduces the effectiveness of steal attempts made by opposing defenders.
• Clamp Breaker – Improves your ability to fight off contact, protect the ball, and drive by opponents.
• Handles For Days – Dribble moves exhaust less stamina.
• Killer Combos – Improves your ability to chain together efficient dribble moves when sizing up an opponent.
• Mismatch Expert – Your player receives a boost when sizing up against a much taller defender.

Now that you know what each NBA 2K23 badge does, you are almost ready to build a great MyPlayer character. All that’s left to do now is go through our NBA 2K23 badge guides that will reveal which are the best badges in each category: shooting, finishing, defensive and rebounding, and playmaking.