Above: A snapshot of my player’s attribute screen about 25 games in.
Spending your virtual currency
This section is where the actual building of a monstrous player comes into focus. If you follow these steps, it will make the above playstyle a breeze.
The main goal is to prioritize the athlete attribute. Unlike previous editions, you don’t get to level each individual stat in NBA 2K15. You can only choose from six general attributes: jump shooter, inside scorer, athlete, playmaker, rebounder, and defender.
Jump shooter seems like the logical choice for creating a great player, but the virtual currency (basically experience points) costs to upgrade this attribute are astronomical. In order to get your 3-point and midrange shooting stats to the low 70s, it will cost you over 8,000 VC. And that will only get you to the point of being able to make most wide-open shots; you will not be able to defend, pass, score inside, drive to the basket, or execute the fast break at all.
The athlete attribute is the second-most expensive, but it offers more rewards in the long run. Increased stamina will allow you to be on the court and effective for long stretches, while increased quickness, speed and vertical ability will help you on both sides of the ball. By about 10 notches, your player will be able to take most average-to-good shooting guards and small forwards to school. Players like Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat are still going to give you trouble, but that’s only an exception — not the rule.
Don’t just level up athlete, though. The early stages of each attribute are so cheap that you will want to spend your leftover points (after upgrading athlete at least once) on inside scorer, jump shooter, playmaker, and defender, in that order.
Inside scorer is mainly used for post moves — which you will hardly ever use — but it does contain the incredibly important layup attribute. Get it to five notches by the time you are in the starting lineup (typically about 20 games in).
Five notches in jump shooter will make your player good enough to hit completely open shots at a high enough percentage to keep the defense honest. Only take jump shots if you are alone on an island out there — and even then, don’t expect to make more than half of them.
Three notches in playmaker will give you just enough handling ability to make the open passes and keep your turnovers to around two or three a game. Three turnovers may get you on the league leader board for the wrong reasons, but for how much you handle the ball, it isn’t that much of a concern.
Three notches in defender will enable you to stay in front of average players and contest their shots. I suggest you fight the urge to lunge for steals or strip the opposing player of possession; typically, he will blow right past you and make you look awful silly.
Don’t touch the rebounding attribute. It is of no use to you, and your exceptional vertical ability will help you grab your fair share of boards without any wasted VC in this stat.
That’s pretty much it. Now that traits are gone and players can use unlimited badges, those areas of customization are completely dead. I do recommend not spending any of your precious VC on fancy dunk animations or jump shots. These things are completely cosmetic and directly take away from your on-the-court abilities.
But, if you really want to unlock the Andrew Wiggins 360 dunk, who am I to tell you no?
Conclusion
Above: Post-guide coverage is brought to you by Sprite and 2K Sports. Take it away Ernie!
This guide isn’t intended to dictate ultimate terms to players; it is simply one of many ways to play the game. I believe it to be the most effective way to create an all-star caliber player in the shortest amount of time.
As an added bonus, this guide will make you a complete animal in the MyPark player-vs-player modes. These modes favor dribble penetration, on-ball defense, and flashy finishes above all else, and you will have all three of these skills nailed.
I got a lot of requests last year for point guard and big man guides. Unfortunately, I still haven’t hit on perfect ways of building and playing them.
For point guards, I do recommend prioritizing the playmaker attribute at first. The shooting stats are so expensive that being able to earn your keep as a great passer will get you into the starting lineup, where you can rack up the VC needed to improve your shot.
For big guys, I suggest creating a 6-foot-10 or so power forward. You will be big enough to play the center position, and this guide (with points in rebounding instead of jump shooter) should serve you pretty well in your endeavors.
If you have any suggestions or tips for me or your fellow ballers, post them below. Or better yet, use GamesBeat’s great community writing tools, GamesBeat Community, to create your own guide. That’s what I did last year, and now they pay me money to play video games.