NBA 2K17 Tips & Tricks

NBA 2K17 is out (at least the Prelude demo), and people are getting ready to start playing against each other. While the basics will let you play good enough to beat the AI most of the time, playing against live opponents requires some finesse. You’ll have to learn a few moves and practice a lot if you want to make it. This guide will show you general NBA 2K17 tips & tricks, to help you become a better player and dominate your opponents.

Run pick and roll

• Be patient on offence, don’t rush unless you have a clean way to the basket, or you grabbed a nice defensive rebound / steal, and are going for a fast break. With 24 seconds, you can run up to 2-3 pick and rolls or plays, depending on the situation.
• To call for a pick and roll, just press the L1 (LB on Xbox) button.
• Use R1 (RB) to switch between roll and fade.
• If you go for a roll, your teammate will go towards the basket after the screen. Look for a gap in the defence to give him a solid pass in the paint.
• With fade, the screener will go away from the basket after the screen. This can be very usefull, especialy if the screener has a good medium-range or 3pt shoot rating, for some easy jumpers.
• Use R2 (RT) to change pick and roll for the left and right side of the ball handler.
• Press L1 (LB) after the pick is called for and early slip or fade.
• Always try to trick your opponents, make them guess. After a solid pick and roll you can take a shot, drive for a layup or go for a pass.
• If the pick doesn’t go well, just get back and try another one, or even with another player if the defender is giving you trouble.

Run plays

• To run plays, use the L1 (LB) button and select the appropriate one using the right stick.
• Each team has a different set of plays, which include a lot of pick and rolls and off-ball movements.

Intentionally foul players that have a bad free throw rating

• You can easily get an advantage in any game just by fouling shooters who are bad at free throws, and making them earn those 2 points.
• Such players include: Andre Drumond, Deandre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gobert, Ian Mahinmi, Jerlens Noel, Kenneth Faried, Tristan Thompson, Bismack Biyombo.
• As soon as they receive the ball on the court, press the intentional foul button.
• Just make sure that your key players don’t get fouled out, and make sure that you are in the foul bonus (5 is default, depending on the game setting).
• Always box out on the second free throw attempt, to avoid offensive rebounds.
• With this kind of tactic, you can easily get back from a deficit, disrupting your opponent’s offensive game, and it’s used in real life basketball as well.

Use your elite defenders to guard superstar players

• Always set your elite defenders to guard superstars in your coaching options.
• For example, players such as: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler have a very high defensive rating, and will have a much easier time stopping offensive superstars like Stephen Curry and James Harden.

Shooting

There are many factors involed in making a good shot.

• First off is the perfect shot release.
• The second one is the feet position of your shooter. Always make sure that your player’s feet are looking towards the basket before attempting the shot.
• There are also a player’s hot zones. Diferent players shoot more efficiently from diferent areas(zones) of the court. For example, Kevin Durant is a much better 3pt shooter from the right angle than he is from the left.

Use the mismatch

There are 2 versions of a mismatch.

• If you get in a situation where your point guard is guarded by the opposing team’s Center or Power Forward, a good solution would be to call an Isolation and play one on one. With some solid dribbling moves, you should be in a good position for a solid shot, or a solid pass if another defender tries to help.
• The second one is when your Center is guarded by the opposing team’s Point Guard or Shooting Guard, who is much smaller in height in most situations. Use your post moves and height advantage for an easy basket, just watch out for 5 seconds back-to-back violations and 3 seconds in the key.

Know your team

• You always have to be aware of your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Each player has a diferent shot release timing, which you have to practice a lot to master that “perfect release”.
• Many teams have some great Centers and Power Forwards with great 3pt shooting skills. Make sure you utilize them.
• Once you have familiarized yourself with the teams, set the substitution settings to manual and change your players as you see fit for the situation.

Set your camera

There are many camera angles and positions in NBA 2K17. Check out each one of them, and play with the one that you feel most confortable with, that has the best court vision, so you can always know where your teammates are and who is open for a potential pass.

Master passing

The are many pass variations in NBA 2K17:

• X (A on the Xbox) is for the standard chest pass
• Circle (B) is for the bounce pass
• Triangle (Y) is for an overhead pass
• Press Circle (B) twice quickly for a flashy pass
• Press Triangle (Y) twice quickly for an alley oop pass. Just make sure the receiving player is in a good position for it.
• You can also use an off the board alley oop, by tapping Triangle twice after aiming at the board.
• You should definitely try out the “give and go”. While holding the X (A) button, you will assume control of your nearest teammate. When you have finished your movement, just release X (A) for a quick pass. You can use this method for some cuts to the basket and easy points.