2K PRO-AM (PS4)

[Kenny]

Just thought I'd create this thread to see if there's any interest in running with an NLSC 2K PRO-AM squad.

We have 3 at the moment looking to play a few games just to see what the team experience is like.

Having a centre and a power forward would help cover some positional gaps, but ultimately it'd just be great to try and get a game or two.

[Andrew]

If it's any incentive, the squad has a point guard that loves racking up assists!

[[Q]]

I think Sit was looking for people to join a league as well if anyone is interested

[Kenny]

Andrew, ZZ, and I managed to get a few games today on the 3v3 court. It's pretty much just the playground, minus a lot of the lag from the background games. It's amazing how fun the game can be when you have good teammates.

Full game highlights

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Other clips

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Again, if anyone is interested, we'd love to get a 5v5 game going - at the very least, to say we gave it a shot. As long as you play the right way, we don't really care about ratings at this point.

[Andrew]

Although it's very similar to 3v3 in The Playground, I'd say it's better. If nothing else, you don't have to line up at Got Next and twiddle your thumbs waiting for a game. Would be great to try 5v5, though. As Kenny said in the first post, a couple of bigs would be ideal as he, zzcoolj21 and I have the backcourt/wings covered.

[Andrew]

Further to the above point.

[Andrew]

We've unlocked custom images. You know what that means...

[zzcoolj21]

[Kenny]

After my pessimistic 0-5 prediction before the session, we went on an 8-0 streak - making it easily our best start ever in 2K PRO-AM. I have to admit, this mode is breathing life into a game that I felt practically done with. I'm anticipating a "jump the shark" moment, but right now, it's pretty fun.

We managed to beat the last team in less than five minutes while debuting our uniforms and logo.

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And of course, I had to clip this one I swatted from the second game of our session:

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[Andrew]

That was a very rare session indeed, but no complaints here.

I'm anticipating a "jump the shark" moment, but right now, it's pretty fun.

I've been thinking the same thing. I'm sure a rough session is coming, but at the same time, I think it has less pressure than 5v5 Pro-Am in a way. The games are over quicker, win or lose, so wins pump you up to keep playing and losses don't sting as much because they're less of a slog, not lasting as long as a normal game with five minute quarters. I'd also suggest there's a smaller focus on stats and less chance of being taken out of the game by a lack of touches, and that helps one do whatever it takes to win. The novelty may wear off eventually, but it's felt very refreshing so far.

[Kenny]

Thought it was worth giving this a bump since NBA 2K20 is a free game on PS+ this month. For anyone who wants to join, any position aside from shooting guard would be welcomed at this point. Not to say that we wouldn't allow more shooting guards, but we tend to be a little stacked there already with ZZ and me.

Here are just a few combinations that could work with our current 3-person lineup:

SF + PF

PG: Me
SG: ZZ
SF: New player
PF: New player
C: Andrew

PG + PF

PG: New player
SG: ZZ
SF: Me
PF: New player
C: Andrew

PF + C

PG: Andrew
SG: ZZ
SF: Me
PF: New player
C: New player

[[Q]]

I wanted to create like a 6'8" LeBron type point forward and wound up stuck with an all around 6'5" PG somehow. I think by picking PG it limited me on how tall he could be. Maybe I should try again but pick SF

I also tried playing a game with Sit and I don't know if it's my shitty internet connection or if it's because I was playing with someone in Australia but it was cool for like a minute before it became unplayable

[Kenny]

I believe they limit the height of point guards because people previously were creating 6'7 monsters who could basically do everything. I'd say your best bet would be to create a small forward and put your attributes into playmaking. Could be a fun experiment. I'm looking to create a Deron Williams type point guard in 2K21, so the height cap is interesting to note.

Unfortunately, the server problems have been an ongoing issue in 2K - although, ZZ seems to green almost everything, somehow. I remember when I was having connection problems, I just created a non-shooting, athletic build, and it seemed to work out a little better.

[[Q]]

Ok maybe I will rebuild the character to be a SF tomorrow

[Andrew]

If you want to create a point forward build, definitely create a small forward. You won't run into that height restriction that way, too.

Here's a Point Forward build you might want to try. After you've entered your details and chosen to be a small forward, created a face (or scanned your face; good luck getting that to work!), start out by selecting this pie chart for your Skill Breakdown:



Choose this for your Physical Profile pie chart:



Then you'll set your potential attributes. These are the maximum ratings you'll be able to upgrade to. They'll also be affected by choices you make in a moment, but it's a chance to optimise them. You can obviously play around a bit with these, but I think it'll give you a good balance. Also note that while ratings in the 60s and 70s may seem poor, they're actually more than decent, especially once you've earned a few Badges. The ratings I've suggested here allow for a decent amount of Badges that should be helpful.



Set your height. You mentioned you wanted to create a 6'8" player, so that's what I've done here. Notice that a few attributes will change accordingly. Leaving your height at 6'7" will keep those ratings neutral, but the extra inch is probably worth the trade-off in the long run.



Weight also affects the ratings caps and physical attributes. I'd suggest making it 220 pounds because you'll get a slight boost to acceleration without affecting any of the skill ratings. If you make a heavier player, they'll have a stronger maximum strength rating, but lower Speed, Acceleration, and Vertical.



The final measurement, wingspan, also has trade-offs as longer and shorter arms have an effect on your ratings. By dropping it to 81 inches, you'll gain an increase to your shooting and ballhandling rating caps, at the cost of a couple of points off stealing and blocking. You'll still be able to swat and swipe with ease, and there are defensive Badges that will help out there.



Finally, you'll set your Takeover skill. You can go either way with it, but I'd suggest sticking with Playmaker.



If all goes well, you should end up with a Point Forward!



Now, a few adjustments here and there to the ratings, or a slightly different Physical Profile pie chart, may result in a Pass-First Wing build. As far as I know, that build still essentially functions as a point forward and has a very similar skillset, but the steps I've outlined will get you to a 6'8" Point Forward.

Here are some suggestions of Badge upgrades to aim for, starting with Finishing.



I have two suggestions for Shooting Badges. The first is assuming you don't want the speediness afforded by a Gold Quick Draw Badge. This configuration will work well with Klay Thompson's jumpshot, which I've found rather easy to master and is flexible enough to work online and offline.



Alternatively, Brandon Ingram's release with Gold Quick Draw is worth checking out. Note however that it isn't a unique animation, so you won't be able to assign his exact animation until you've played through MyCAREER enough to unlock the Jumpshot Creator, at which point you can create his release.





Moving on to Playmaking Badges, here are my suggestions.



And finally, Defense/Rebounding Badges.



Once again, there's room to experiment here depending on how you like to play and what you find most helpful, but that should give you a fairly LeBron-like Point Forward build with Badges that'll be advantageous online and offline.

[[Q]]

Thanks for the walkthrough. What do you have to do to get the jump shot creator?

I wound up picking the pie that's heavy on playmaking and defense as I enjoy playing defense so I would say it's less LeBron and probably more Ben Simmons with a jumper. I think they classified it was a 2 way playmaker or something

I did manage to get a face scan after a couple tries but I don't like it so I may redo it

[Andrew]

Congrats on getting a face scan to upload! I haven't even tried this year after last year's debacle, though I might give it one more go just to see. 2-Way Playmaker will definitely work for the style you're going for.

After about ten team practice sessions (accessed through The Neighborhood after every NBA game), you'll have a session with Chris Brickley. He'll run you through some shooting drills, which will have a generous multiplier on the XP for Shooting Badges and help you make some progress. At the end, you'll also unlock the Jumpshot Creator for that MyPLAYER, which will allow you to put together custom combinations, or replicate the combinations that real players use when they don't have a specific full animation. In the meantime, you can assign any of those pre-made animations from NBA players, and they're actually all free; to 2K's credit, a bunch of animations are.

[[Q]]

Great! Good to hear they have free animations! I remember in 2k16 iirc every single animation had a price tag on it, or most of them at least

[Andrew]

Yeah they've backed off that a bit, at least for the jumpshots and some basic dribbling and dunking animations. That allows you to focus on upgrades (which are expensive), and just add some new animations here and there as you level up and unlock them.

[[Q]]

What should I be doing with the first bit of VC that I earned? I have about 1 to 2 thousand at summer league

[Andrew]

Upgrade some of your key skills. This year, the physical attributes upgrade as your other skills level up, so the sooner you start getting your skill ratings up, the sooner your player will get faster and more athletic. You'll probably want to focus on passing, dribbling, and lateral quickness since you're going for a defensive playmaking build.

[Andrew]

THRILLHO rides again!

[Kenny]

Some highlights from today's W:

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Fun session all up, despite a couple of results not going our way. Still keen to get 5, but 3v3 remains entertaining enough. It's great that it doesn't take a huge time commitment either - especially since we're playing on my lunch break from work

[Andrew]

Those usernames, though.

I thought I was going to get swatted when I broke out the Big Man Back Scratcher, fortunately their timing was off.

[[Q]]

Congrats on getting a face scan to upload! I haven't even tried this year after last year's debacle, though I might give it one more go just to see. 2-Way Playmaker will definitely work for the style you're going for.

After about ten team practice sessions (accessed through The Neighborhood after every NBA game), you'll have a session with Chris Brickley. He'll run you through some shooting drills, which will have a generous multiplier on the XP for Shooting Badges and help you make some progress. At the end, you'll also unlock the Jumpshot Creator for that MyPLAYER, which will allow you to put together custom combinations, or replicate the combinations that real players use when they don't have a specific full animation. In the meantime, you can assign any of those pre-made animations from NBA players, and they're actually all free; to 2K's credit, a bunch of animations are.

Dang, after 11 or 12 practices I haven't unlocked the Jump shot creator yet