The center is probably the position that has evolved the most in the NBA. In the past, centers were bound to the paint both on offense and defense.
When playing offense, most of them attempt to score through post-ups or as the roll man in pick-and-rolls. On the other end of the court, they are tasked with preventing scores inside the paint.
In recent years, centers have had to learn how to shoot from the perimeter to provide their teammates with space to operate.
They are also expected to be able to keep up with smaller opponents on defense – unless they offer elite rim protection. If they are unable to do these, then they likely won’t see much playing time. Ask DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside.
If you want to play the “5” position in NBA 2K23, then that is pretty brave of you. It won’t be easy, but with the right customization, you can become the next elite center.
In this article, I will help you create the best center build in NBA 2K23.
Overview
One of the decisions you will need to make is determining what archetype your center should be.
Do you want to be like Nikola Jokic, who made his mark by being a triple-double machine that can spread the floor? It wouldn’t be a bad choice at all.
After all, he is a two-time MVP. The only downside to imitating his build is that it will be an unathletic one-dimensional player. Don’t get me wrong. He is a decent team defender.
But he may not be able to hold his own on defense in MyCAREER and REC games.
How about a Joel Embiid-lite player? If healthy, the Philadelphia 76ers star can be a perennial MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
On offense, he is a beast inside the paint, and his range extends to a few feet beyond the arc. On defense, he is a shot-blocking menace who can move laterally quickly.
Having said that, the player we will be building will possess some of Embiid’s best qualities and have the archetype inside-out glass cleaner.
Body Settings
- Height: 6’10”
- Weight: 239 lbs
- Wingspan: 7’5”
Because you will be creating a center, making it as tall as possible can really be tempting. But in NBA 2K23, too much height will penalize several of your attributes, such as speed and acceleration.
You will need at least 70 for both attributes, as any rating less than that can slow your player down significantly.
For the same reason, you shouldn’t look to make your character’s weight too realistic. The good thing is that you can compensate for making the weight relatively weight by increasing its strength potential.
Attributes
Bear in mind that what you are adjusting in this part of the player creator is potential. These will not be the initial attributes. So, your center might be bullied around or be on the other end of highlights in the beginning stages of your career.
What you should aim for then is to get a 99 rating fast in order to unlock your player’s full potential. Do you already know how to get endorsements in NBA 2K23? That is a quick way to obtain more virtual currency (VC) that you can use to increase your attributes.
With that out of the way, let’s get to what the maximum potential attributes of the best center build in NBA 2K23 are.
Finishing
- Close Shot: 56
- Driving Layup: 75
- Driving Dunk: 85
- Standing Dunk: 90
- Post Control: 55
Because the player you are creating should be a proficient scorer inside the paint and the perimeter, you will need to allot many of the points to several finishing attributes.
While it makes sense to boost your close shot and post control attributes, that would mean sacrificing other attributes. It is better to focus instead on the layup and dunk attributes.
There is also the option of switching it up by raising close shot and post control instead. But this is NBA 2K23. So, you will likely be gunning for layups and dunks instead of post-up shots.
Shooting
- Mid-Range Shot: 73
- Three-Point Shot: 85
- Free Throw: 60
Following the trend of big men who can shoot from outside, the best center build in NBA 2K23 should be able to convert jump shots efficiently. To do so, you must increase the shooting attributes.
I suggest adding more to the three-point shot instead of the mid-range shot. Even a mid-range rating of 73 can help you connect on open shots attempted just outside the painted area. It is more difficult to hit three-point attempts, so allocating more points to it is ideal.
As for the free throw attribute, a 60 will suffice as long as you make an extra effort to find and get used to the right timing at the team practice facility.
Playmaking
- Pass Accuracy: 70
- Ball Handle: 35
- Speed With Ball: 26
This is where things get a bit muddied. You could be looking to raise the ball handle and speed with ball attributes to help you get to the lane easier.
Like our predicament with the close shot and post control ratings, there is a limit to how many total points we can assign to attributes. There is no other choice but to sacrifice your ball-handling capabilities. A solution for your player’s lack of dribbling skills would be to find a team that has elite floor generals who can dish you the ball at the right spots.
Defense/Rebounding
- Interior Defense: 82
- Perimeter Defense: 71
- Steal: 70
- Block: 88
- Offensive Rebound: 81
- Defensive Rebound: 99
As your team’s pivot, it is your responsibility to protect the paint and grab as many boards as possible. For these reasons, you should set your potential interior defense and rebound attributes high.
I recommend adding extra points to the perimeter defense and steal attributes to ensure that you can cover opposing perimeter players, especially if your team’s coaching profile has a switch-heavy defensive scheme.
With these defensive attributes, your player will surely be contending for the Defensive Player of the Year award in no time.
Physicals
- Speed: 76
- Acceleration: 70
- Strength: 86
- Vertical: 78
- Stamina: 90
The physical category is the most straightforward. Two of the attributes that you should maximize are speed and acceleration. Then make sure to set the ratings of the other attributes to near the maximum.
Takeovers
Current-Gen
- Primary takeover: Glass Cleaner
- Secondary takeover: Spot Up Shooter
For this build, there will only be three takeovers to choose from when playing the current-gen version of NBA 2K23.
The obvious choice for your primary option is Glass Cleaner. It will help you determine if a field-goal attempt by another player will miss the mark, giving you a higher chance of grabbing the board. In addition, it provides your rebounding stats with a boost.
For the secondary takeover, you can go for Spot Up Shooter so you can light it up from the perimeter in catch-and-shoot and pick-and-pop situations.
Next-Gen
- Primary takeover: See the Future
- Secondary takeover: Spot Up Precision
One of the best takeovers in NBA 2K23 for next-gen is See the Future. When activated, you will see where missed shots are going to fall. Let’s face it, predicting where the ball will end up after a missed field-goal attempt is one of the hardest things to do in the game. With this takeover, you can position your player properly when boxing out.
Because your player can score from the perimeter, the secondary takeover option should come from the Spot Up Shooter category. And because you’re a big man, running jumpers or pull-up jump shots will likely be rare. Thus, the Spot Up Precision takeover is your best bet.
Badges
You will get a total of 68 potential badges available after your overall rating has improved enough. I understand if you want to unlock all of them immediately, but you will have to grind for them. Fortunately, there are some ways to unlock badges in NBA 2K23 faster.
Finishing
- Aerial Wizard: Silver
- Backdown Punisher: Silver
- Dream Shake: Bronze
- Fast Twitch: Silver
- Fearless Finisher: Bronze
- Post Spin Technician: Bronze
- Posterizer: Silver
- Rise Up: Silver
Most elite centers can score inside the shaded area efficiently. With the right finishing badges, you can convert many of your layups and dunks even in the face of defenders.
As you may remember, we could not allot more points to the post control attribute. To compensate, some badges can boost your player’s strength and skills when posting up. These badges are Backdown Punisher and Post Spin Technician. So, you should definitely look to upgrade them when the chance comes.
Shooting
- Amped: Gold
- Catch & Shoot: Silver
- Corner Specialist: Bronze
- Deadeye: Silver
- Volume Shooter: Gold
Funnily enough, your player will have more badge points available for shooting than finishing. But that’s fine because all of the shooting badges that you will unlock can make you an even greater threat from the perimeter.
As a center, you will constantly be banging bodies with enemies. When jockeying for position to grab a board, you will be boxing out opponents. On offense, you will be called to set a screen every now and then. These can consume much of your energy. That is why one of the first badges you must unlock is Amped to reduce the penalty of fatigue on your jump shots.
The other gold-tier badges that can improve your shooting clip are Middy Magician and Volume Shooter.
Playmaking
- Break Starter: Silver
- Post Playmaker: Silver
- Vice Grip: Bronze
The way we set up the attributes will provide us with only 7 available playmaking badges. I suggest committing them to Break Starter to increase the accuracy of your outlet passes and Post Playmaker to help you make precise passes out of post-up situations.
For the remaining point, Vice Grip is a solid choice. After spending hours playing NBA 2K23, I noticed that there have been more instances of opponents stealing the ball from a player who has just rebounded or caught the ball. The badge limits the chances of it happening to you.
Defense/Rebounding
- Anchor: Silver
- Boxout Beast: Gold
- Brick Wall: Silver
- Chasedown Artist: Bronze
- Pogo Stick: Gold
- Post Lockdown: Silver
- Rebound Chaser: Gold
- Work Horse: Gold
With 25 points available, you can experiment with the allocation of your player’s defense/rebounding badges. You can even spread them out to a lot of the badges, because most of them are beneficial for your gameplay.
The badges I listed below are some of the best ones for the player archetype we just built. They can improve your interior defense and rebounding stats.
What to Do Next?
After creating the best center build in NBA 2K23, the next step in your journey to becoming one of the legends is finding the right team.
Some of the best teams to join in 2K23 as a center are the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, and Golden State Warriors. But what I believe would present you with the best opportunity for playing time and showcasing your skills is the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers’ roster has superstars Kawhi Leonard, who served as inspiration for the best small forward build in NBA 2K23, and Paul George. It even has John Wall, a former All-Star point guard.
With your player starting at center, the team will be strong at every position and contend for championships in the current and next seasons.
