Kobe Bryant is an exact replica of the best Michael Jordan NBA 2K22 build. The only difference is that Kobe developed and adapted to the 3-point era where he improved in this area more than Mike.
Although they are cut from the same cloth, you can make a couple of tweaks to make a unique Kobe Bryant build in 2k22.
This guide will help you create the best Kobe Bryant build in NBA 2K22 and pick all the right badges, skill breakdowns, attributes, and physical profiles that fit him perfectly.
Kobe Bryant Build Overview
Kobe Bryant’s skill set is unique as he improved on every aspect of the game with his small frame. He excels in shooting the mid-range, posting up against opponents, finishing at the rim, defending against the best players, and shooting 3-pointers.
For a 6’6 shooting guard, he is also above average in his playmaking and rebounding skills. There is no question about the greatness of Kobe Bryant as he improved each year with his Mamba Mentality approach until he got injured.
For this Kobe Bryant 2K22 build, you will be looking at a player who excels more in shooting and finishing while being decent in all other aspects of the game. It is worth mentioning that Kobe made the All-Defensive Team nine times in his career.
Skills Breakdown
For his skills breakdown, there is no other choice by focusing on his finishing and shooting. His post fade and his mid-range shot are both his best offensive weapons. This will sacrifice a few points in his defense but, you will have no choice.
The attribute decrease from either category will diminish badly when you add more points to defense. You can slightly tweak the finishing and shooting breakdown depending on what you think is best.
When you think about Kobe Bryant in the 2000s, his game leans more towards finishing at the rim. In the 2010s, his game is more about improving his shooting instead of finishing at the rim more. It could have been a way to preserve his body more but, we will never know.
If you want the #8 Kobe, you could go for a skill breakdown that has more finishing with a lower shooting allocation. For the #24 Kobe, you can go for the image above.
Physical Profile and Others
There were rumors about Kobe Bryant’s height after his wife told everyone that he stood at 6’4. However, he is listed as 6’6 in the NBA. With a pair of sneakers, it would seem just about right.
His frame is more towards being lean so you could go for more speed, acceleration, and vertical for his physicals. For his wingspan are about 6 feet and 11 inches. However, you can choose a different wingspan that gives you better shooting or finishing.
Lowering it will increase your shooting while turning it up more will increase your finishing and even your post fade attribute.
Kobe Bryant Badges
For Kobe Bryant’s badges, there will be quite a number coming from shooting and finishing. The number of potential upgrades is highly dependent on the skill breakdown and attribute allocation you have on your NBA 2k22 Kobe build.
You can find the fastest way to unlock badges to get them quicker. Since you have no way of upgrading badges through VCs, this will still take a lot of hours to get.
Shooting Badges
- Clutch Shooter – Improves the ability to knock down shots in clutch moments
- Volume Shooter – Boosts shot percentages as shot attempts accrue throughout the game
- Difficult Shots – Improves the ability to make difficult shots off the dribble in mid-range
- Deadeye – Reduces the impact of players closing out when shooting
- Blinders – Become unfazed from defenders coming from the side
- Green Machine – boost a players shooting ability after an excellent timed release
For Kobe Bryant’s shooting, Clutch Shooter, Volume Shooter, and Difficult Shots look like a no-brainer for this build. It resembles his game perfectly.
For Deadeye and Blinders, this will help you hit those mid-range shots more consistently. Green Machine is there because it just got buffed in NBA 2K22.
You will be able to activate Green Machine on one excellently timed release instead of two. This boost will highly improve your shooting even if you focused a lot on finishing.
Finishing Badges
- Slithery Finisher – Improves the player’s ability to avoid contact when attacking the rim
- Fearless Finisher – Improves the ability to make contact layups
- Acrobat – Improves the ability to make layups that have a high degree of difficulty
- Giant Slayer – Heightens the effectiveness of layups over taller defenders
- Limitless Takeoff – Favors dunks and layups from a farther take-off range
- Posterizer – Improves the likelihood of posterizing your opponents
For finishing badges, this is the replica of Michael Jordan’s badges too. Most of these badges are mandatory for the build.
With a 6’6 frame, it would be close to impossible to finish at the rim the way Kobe did without upgrading these badges. Kobe always finds a way to slither past the defense and make a difficult shot. Whether it is through a layup or a dunk in traffic, he makes it look so easy.
His dunk against the Brooklyn Nets team already activates 4 of these badges in one play. It is just a matter of finding a way to get all of these badges.
Playmaking Badges
- Quick First Step – Provides an explosive boost on your first step after sizing up or from a triple threat
- Tight Handles – Improves the player’s ability to break down defenders
- Space Creator – Improves a player’s ability to create space from a defender
- Bail Out – Improves your passes while in mid-air
For Kobe’s playmaking, his assist numbers are mostly from double-teams or breaking down the defense and finding the open man. It would be a lot better if you focus on badges that do exactly that.
Since your badges will be quite limited, you can go for Quick First Step and Space Creator as the main badges in this category. You will also need to prioritize upgrading these two to the max before adding the others.
Defense/Rebounding Badges
- Clamps – Increases ability to stay on the ball handler for perimeter defense
- Ball Stripper – Increases the ability to strip the ball when they attack the basket
- Pick Pocket – Increases the ability to steal the ball from a ball handler
- Intimidator – Intimidates offensive players causing them to miss more often
For the defense badges, it is a shame that you will not be able to add more to this. As mentioned before, Kobe made the All-Defensive First Team 9 times in his career. His defense is criminally underrated.
With the skill breakdown limiting your defensive badges, you have no choice but to focus on the ones that define Kobe as a defender. Prioritize getting Clamps and Intimidator for this Kobe Bryant build and see if you can fit the rest in.
Takeover
The most simple one would be to choose Slasher. It improves your overall ability to finish at the rim when activating it. It resembles how Kobe made all those shots inside the paint in traffic.
However, you can also choose Shot Creator. The Shot Creator boosts your effectiveness when shooting off the dribble and it also helps you shake your defenders through spin gathers and stepbacks.
Kobe’s amazing footwork gives you the ability to create more space and take the game over by splashing mid-range shots. When the game is on the line, it will help you sink that game-winner as soon as you activate the Shot Creator.
Final Thoughts
Since you are going for the best Kobe Bryant build, you are most likely familiar with Kobe’s game. Builds are highly subjective but, most of the badges mentioned should be undebatable.
You can choose to tweak some of it to your version of Kobe. It will just take a ton of grinding if you ever want to create another one. This build will only feel complete once you get a 99 overall rating with all the badges unlocked.
For the late and great Kobe Bryant, I am sure he would be proud that his Mamba Mentality heavily influenced the next generation of players. For Kobe!
