Getting superstars to play for your team is one of the hardest things to do as a team owner or GM in NBA 2K23.
Even in the NBA, teams find it hard to get superstars to play for their team and give more than they should have in trades.
You might find it hard to believe, but it’s actually harder to trade for superstars in NBA 2K23 than how it usually goes in the NBA.
This guide will show you how to trade for superstars in NBA 2K23 with and without messing with the game’s trader sliders.
What is a Superstar?
Superstar is a loosely used word for characterizing good NBA players. However, measuring a player’s capabilities can be subjective.
NBA legends have different definitions of superstars. Some consider all-star starters as superstars, and some only consider superstars as someone good enough to be the best player on a championship-contending team.
In NBA 2K23, we can define a superstar as a player valued at 5 stars on a team. Players with 4 and 1/2 stars will not be considered superstars.
These star values can be seen when you use MyGM’s trade finder. If you start putting these players in an actual trade, their value will depreciate because of the trade sliders.
Every team has different needs for their team, and the value of your players can fluctuate depending on how the other team values them.
For example, a player like Joel Embiid is valued as a superstar (5-star) player. If you trade him to a team with another good center, they will value Embiid a lot lower (4-star 1/2), but he should still be considered a superstar.
Trading Without Trade Override
Trading for a superstar is extremely hard. Most teams have these superstars listed as ‘untouchables’ on their team, and you will have to overpay by a lot to get these players out of them.
There are a few strategies you can do to trade for superstars. You can accumulate assets and invest in the future.
Training and developing players with high potential can also be a good option for increasing your trade value or power.
We will go through each method you can use to trade for the superstar you want.
Getting Assets
Assets for trading can be in the form of valuable draft picks, expiring contracts, or cap space.
The trick to getting valuable draft picks is by looking at the structure of the team and seeing if they have the potential to lose a ton of games during the season.
At the start of the season, the draft picks for each team are valued at their previous NBA regular season record.
Teams like the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings have their draft picks valued high even before the season begins.
If you set up a fantasy draft, you can capitalize on getting draft picks from good teams at the start of the season.
Without the fantasy draft setup, you can get draft picks from teams like the Utah Jazz, the Dallas Mavericks, or the Atlanta Hawks.
These are usually strong teams, but they somehow end up doing badly in NBA 2K23. The Utah Jazz already lost Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, but their draft picks are still valued as if they are going to be a contending team.
If you don’t want to use this strategy in getting draft picks, you can trade for good draft picks near the end of the trade deadline and pay more.
This investment will take a long time to bloom, which we will cover in our next section.
Training and Developing Players
Getting young players with good potential is always a good thing. They will eventually end up increasing their value over time, and their potential makes the process a lot faster.
These young players can be considered assets if you are looking to move them out for a trade. If you stick with them, they can even end up being your own superstar, so you don’t have to trade for one.
However, we have our eyes set on trading for superstars like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, or Luka Doncic.
So, who are the best young players you would want to develop on your team?
The most obvious answers would be Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, or even Trae Young. All these players mentioned will be incredibly hard to get because most of them are already considered superstars.
Our focus will be on guys like Chet Holmgren, Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, or LaMelo Ball.
These players will be considered superstars (rated 5 stars) after playing for one or two seasons.
They can be hard to acquire already, but they are definitely easier to trade for compared to someone like Luka Doncic.
If you have trouble trading for these players, you can try other young players like Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or DeAndre Ayton.
If you still have trouble trading for these players, you can just look at each team’s roster and look for players with a high potential rating. The potential can be seen in the player’s last attribute.
After acquiring these players, you can start developing them to increase their value.
How do you develop these young players?
The easiest way to develop them is by giving them a ton of minutes and playing them consistently. You want to increase their morale and happiness throughout the whole season.
Your team’s success and chemistry will also matter, as winning translates to development. Just making the playoffs and winning a ton of games during the regular season made Cade Cunningham a 92 overall rated (5-star) player after one season.
You can have this success with other players with high potential as well. Bringing two or three young players you can develop would also be possible as long as you give them all enough minutes and play them.
Clearing cap space
One of the easiest ways to create a superteam is by signing superstars in free agency. The only way to clear cap space is by getting players on 1-year deals and playing the season.
Almost every single team in the NBA is over the cap room. This means you will not be able to dump contracts on other teams without getting another contract of equal value.
Your goal is to fill your roster with 1-year contracts while also doing the strategies mentioned above.
This might seem like a lot of GM (general manager) work, but this will be the only way to get a superstar without using a trade override feature.
Once you finish the season, sign the best player in free agency in terms of value.
Trading for the superstar
After getting assets and developing a young promising star, you can now try and trade for any superstar you want.
If you calculate the star value of a trade, you will eventually give 6-8 stars more in return for a superstar.
For example, if you want to get Giannis Antetokounmpo, you need to give Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and a few valuable picks.
You will also need to match the money by adding more players to the trade. If you add all the value (stars) of your side of the deal compared to getting Giannis (5-star), you will overpay by a lot.
With the default trade sliders, overpaying will be mandatory to get any superstar.
Some teams value your players more than other teams. You need to find the right team or the right player to trade for a superstar you are eyeing.
Using Trade Finder or Trading Block
The Trade Finder is a tool in MyGM where you can select players on your roster and automatically find trade options. The trades that pop up will all be accepted as is, and it will depend on whether you like the deal or not.
The Trade Finder is unlocked through MyGM skills. It is available as early as reaching level 2 as the node is literally next to the circle in the middle.
These trades are usually fair, but your main problem is that you will never find any superstar deals unless you are giving one. Even then, you will still be losing value most of the time by trading a superstar for a superstar using this feature.
You can also use the trading block by adding players you wish to trade. Once a player is added to the trading block, you will receive more trade offers revolving around those players as you progress through the season.
Using Trade Override
To use the trade override feature, you need to be playing MyGM in unranked mode. You will not be able to fix any trade sliders or settings on any ranked mode.
After starting an unranked MyGM mode, go to the settings tab and find “trade sliders.” Look for the trade override setting and turn it on.
Once the setting is turned on, you can offer any trade to any team and force them to accept it. The trade still follows the rules of the cap space and roster size, so you would need to make the contracts match.
If you are too lazy to do that, you can also change the trade sliders and remove the cap space rules. With this method, you can get virtually every single player you want to play on your team.
In case you were wondering who the best players in the game are, we’ve got multiple guides with that information separated according to the role of the players in the team. Start with the best centers and go from there.
