NBA 2K23: Beginner’s Guide To MyCareer (2024)

NBA 2K23 gives us the yearly upgrade to the tried and true basketball simulator we all know and love. Besides realistic graphics and updated shooting animations, NBA 2K23 has a wide range of game modes, including MyCareer.

Arguably the most popular of the bunch, MyCareer puts you in the shoes of an NBA rookie trying to find their place in the league. You’ll have to navigate through the early significant decisions in a young player’s career that can shape you for years to come. There’s a bit more to basketball than dribbling a ball, so lace up your sneakers, and let’s dive into a beginner’s guide to MyCareer.

Updated July 1, 2023, by Sean Murray: Getting started with NBA 2K23 My Career mode? We've got you covered in this refreshed guide. We've tweaked the formatting and given it more links to other helpful NBA 2K23 topics.

Creating The Perfect Build In NBA 2K23

Before we jump into how high your three-point shooting rating will be, you’ll start by adjusting your player’s appearance. NBA 2K23 has several options for hair, and the intricate scales to adjust facial features are very precise.

After you’ve decided how your player will look, next will be choosing which position they’ll play. Based on each position, you’ll have a set range to adjust your player’s height and weight, which will heavily affect your ratings.

Now that your player’s physical build is finished, it’s time to complete your attributes build.

• You’ll distribute attribute points across different sections to determine how your player would perform if they were at max level.
• Categories highlighted in yellow will all be affected when increasing the attribute, so understanding how to work the system to increase more than one key area is vital.
• Utilize the wide range of shooting animations to find your most comfortable fit. Whether it's from your favorite player or a randomly generated one, it's important to select a proper one.

You can view the possible badges you can earn in each major section (Finishing, Shooting, Playmaking, Defense) and plan ahead on how you’ll unlock them throughout your career.

Certain bronze badges don’t have any requirements, while blacked-out badges won’t be able to be unlocked based on your build. Regardless of what you name your player, they’ll be referred to as MP. Before finalizing your build, the game will tell you which players closely resemble your created player.

Welcome To The League

NBA 2K23’s MyCareer mode is more than a player’s journey to the NBA; it’s a story of a player trying to find their way in an unknown place filled with adversaries. Your player will be drafted with the eighteenth pick in the NBA draft, which happens to be one pick before your rival, Shep Owens.

Immediately after getting drafted, you’ll face off against Shep in the Summer League championship game. Not only can you humiliate Shep, but your coach will also base their game plan on your Summer League performance.

If you finish with an A or higher, you’ll earn the title of “sixth man” and be the first option off the bench.

How well you perform in games is critical to your improvement as an NBA player. Making shots, creating opportunities for others, defending, and not committing mistakes will increase your letter grade performance in the game.

.You’ll earn MyCareer points that will increase your max overall level and Virtual Currency (VC) that’s used to directly increase attributes. Completing season goals is an efficient way to earn VC and quickly upgrade your attributes.

Owning The City

The MyCareer hub world is known as The City. This sprawling metropolis is filled with training facilities, news stations, recording studios, corner shops, tattoo artists, basketball courts, street races, and a whole lot else. Basically, The City is where you’ll build your brand on and off the court.

Subway stations are located throughout the city and act as fast travel points. Run onto the subway, and the menu will appear for you to quickly get around the area. Each day, you can complete drills at Brickley’s Gym and the Gatorade training facility to earn points toward unlocking badges.

After completing the introductory main mission, “Welcome To The League,” your team will devise a strategy to take control of the city from Shep. They divided the city into four districts: Music, Business, Fashion, and NBA.

Each district has a boss that MP will need to defeat to win the fans over and damage Shep’s street cred. Once every district is completed, MP will face off against Shep to take him down. Taking down your rival is just the first step in your long journey toward NBA immortality.

Next: NBA 2K23: Best Playmaking Badges, Ranked