*UPDATED* The Best NBA 2K21 Badges: Shooting Hotfix, Pogo Stick, Intimidator, Fancy Footwork & more

NBA 2K21 is here! Let’s break down the badges in this year’s game, and which you should use for your NBA 2K21 MyPLAYER builds.

Latest news – Shooting Hotfix

The NBA 2K21 shooting hotfix is live, and with it comes some sweeping changes to shooting this year.

The good news is that it offers players on both sides of the fence what they want.

NBA 2K21 Shooting Hotfix
EARLY CHANGE: NBA 2K21’s newest update drops a big shooting hotfix

For players that want to experience easier shooting, most game modes and lower difficulties feature this.

READ MORE: NBA 2K21: New Locker Codes Announced! – MyTEAM, How to Use, Active Codes & more

For players that want to keep more challenging new shooting and shot meter, the highest difficulties and The Neighborhood still feature it.

For players looking to grind out their shooting badges before hitting The Park or The Rec in The Neighborhood, this is a big boost to getting their faster.

The Broken

We classify broken badges as badges that warp NBA 2K gameplay and are absolutely necessary for players that will use them.

READ MORE: NBA 2K21 REVIEW: New features elevate the series to next level

These are the must-include badges for your MyPLAYER in NBA 2K21.

Pogo Stick

When it comes to defending a shot in basketball, timing is everything. Great shooters abuse defenders by getting them off their feet to time their jumpshot and draw fouls. This is especially important in the paint.

NBA 2K21 pogo stick badges MyPLAYER builds
HORROR STORY: Having trouble getting around Rudy Gobert? Add Pogo Stick to the mix and the paint is a no-go

But thanks to Pogo Stick, defenders can feel free to challenge almost every shot opportunity thanks to a very short recovery time to get back into the air and block shots.

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This turns paint defense into spamming a button, which is terrible fundamental game design, but fantastic for anyone contesting shots.

Contact Finisher

This badge is another huge pickup for slasher builds, and allows more contact dunks and layups to be successful.

Contact Finisher NBA 2K21 badges MyPLAYER Builds
FIGHT THROUGH: Contact Finisher lets players fight through physical defense

It makes sense that a badge like this exists in the 2K series because of how many elite finishers make plays happen through contact.

READ MORE: NBA 2K21 PS4: Review, Current-Gen Trailer, Features & more

In-game however this badge turns into a must-have for anyone driving the ball, and means that even a well-played defensive possession can end in a poster.

The Strong

These badges aren’t inherently broken, but they’re definitely powerful, and should be in most NBA 2K21 MyPLAYER builds that can use them.

Giant Slayer

Giant Slayer is a badge that boosts layup effectiveness when mismatched against taller defenders.

nba 2k21 badges MyPLAYER Builds
MISMATCH NO MORE: Giant Slayer means mismatches are still workable for drivers

This badge is one of the keys to most slashing builds that dominate The Park, and lets guards freely challenge bigs in the paint.

READ MORE: NBA 2K21 Release Date

Slashers had strong support in NBA 2K20, and while they aren’t quite as strong in NBA 2K21, this is a key badge for any MyPLAYER build looking to drive.

Fancy Footwork

Offensive moves oves like the Euro step have taken over the NBA and innovated how offenses attack the paint from positions 1 to 5.

Fancy Footwork looks to capture this by enhancing player’s ability to beat the defense with similar moves.

READ MORE: NBA 2K21 Pre-Orders OPEN: Price, Editions & more

The in-game reality is that Fancy Footwork makes driving animations that are already too powerful even more insufferable for defenders. This makes it a strong badge for your MyPLAYER if you’re looking to drive.

Intimidator

While there are plenty of enforcers in the NBA that can make any offense struggle to produce, this badge is very strong, and is a must-include for most NBA 2K21 MyPLAYER builds.

NBA 2K21 badges MyPLAYER builds
DEMO REVEAL: The NBA 2K21 revealed some problematic badges were returning this year

This badge increases the chance that players miss shots and dunks if you’re near them, which is even stronger if you’re tightly guarding them.

READ MORE: NBA 2K21 MyCAREER: Trailer, NCAA College Basketball, Story & more

While this badge being effective when tightly guarding opponents is great since it rewards defensive skill and positioning, making players miss dunks when not making any actual effort to defend is a huge problem. While it was worse in NBA 2K20, this is still a fantastic defensive badge for positions 1-5.

The post *UPDATED* The Best NBA 2K21 Badges: Shooting Hotfix, Pogo Stick, Intimidator, Fancy Footwork & more appeared first on RealSport.

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