Shooting this year in NBA 2K is very easy, and a way to make it even easier is by equipping the sniper badge. The sniper badge allows jump shots taken with a slightly early/late timing to receive a boost. This badge is a must-have for any shooting build as even when you white, your shot still has quite a good percentage of going in.

Recommended Level: Hall of Fame

With badge level increase, having it on Hall of Fame will give you the highest make percentage.

Bullet Passer

Have you ever noticed when playing on a new build, passes are able to be intercepted at a higher rate and people are able to close out on the shooters you pass to. If so, the reason for this is the lack of having bullet passer. This is a badge that is a necessity for all builds 1–5, as everyone in 2K will pass at one point or another. You don’t want to be that guy on the team that keeps throwing the ball away due to slow readable passes.

Recommended Level: Guards (Hall of Fame) Wings and Bigs (Bronze)

If you’re a facilitator for your team, it is best to run bullet passer at the highest level as it will make skip passes and passes to the roller harder to intercept. Bronze is the perfect spot for other positions as that is where a noticeable difference will be seen and felt and there is a 0.1-second difference between bronze and silver.

Interceptor

Unfortunately with the way the game is programmed and the size of the court, it makes interceptions much more likely. If you’ve watched a Pro-Am game between two top teams there are passes that seem open, but a defender with the interceptor badge is able to teleport in front for the steal. The interceptor badge allows the frequency of successfully tipped or intercepted to greatly increase. Just having the badge allows for certain steal animations to be unlocked.

Recommended Level: Silver

Silver will allow you to save vital badge points for other badges but still allow you to be a valuable defender as it increases steals on passes significantly, with gold only increasing steals slightly more.

Chase Down Artist

The last must-have badge for all builds as chase down artist will unlock various block animations just by simply having the badge on bronze. When playing defense on NBA 2K you are bound to get beat off the dribble, and having chase down artist gives you chance to block your opponents attempt.

Recommended level: Guards (Bronze) Wings and Bigs (Hall of Fame)

If you have a guard build it is recommended that you equip chase down artist on bronze at it will allow maximizing the badge points you have allocated to defense. If you are a lockdown or a big it is recommended you get this as high as possible as it will increase your chances of chase down blocks greatly.

Best Badges for Guards

Must-Have:

Blinders

The Blinders badge is going to be an essential badge for any guard or facilitator build in NBA 2K22. Guards in 2K are always going to be the focal point of the offense, and the most taken shot in 2K is the three-pointer. Blinders allow jump shots taken with a defender closing out in their peripheral vision to suffer a lower penalty. It is quite expensive to get on Hall of Fame, but if you have the 99 mid-range or 3pt shot rating it is a must-have as it will allow you the confidence to shoot shots you wouldn’t normally take and make them at a high percentage.
Recommended level: Gold/HOF
If you have a build with a 99 mid-range or 3pt rating, this badge gives an excellent boost on Hall of Fame. If your build does not meet the requirements for HOF, running it at the highest level is recommended.

Handles for Days

Having the Handles for Days badge will be needed for any guard as without your player will be breathing like an asthmatic after one crossover. Handles for Days will allow your player to exert less energy when trying to break down a defender. The more stamina you have, the more successful a possession will be in NBA 2K22

Recommended Level: Hall of Fame

Having the badge on Hall of Fame will give you an increase of dribble moves significantly. This will allow you ample dribble moves to beat your defender and enough stamina to be able to knock down the shot. The difference between HOF and gold is a very large differential in the boosts received.

Quick First Step

Quick first step has been an important badge in every 2K in recent memory, and for good reason. If you want to be able to “speed boost” or explode out of a dribble move or out of a triple-threat position, the quick first step is the badge. Essentially it speeds up your player’s first step and allows you to get away from defenders.

Recommended level: Hall of Fame

We want this badge at HOF as NBA 2KTutes mentioned, the speed boost received from the QFS badge is linear. So at Hall of Fame, that is where we will see the greatest boost in speed off the dribble.

Quick Chain

Quick Chain will allow players to quickly put together a series of moves while sizing up their opponents. If you want to be able to chain multiple moves and combos to break down a defender, quick chain is great as it will speed up the combos your performing.

Recommended Level: Gold

While quick chain is a great badge it is more cost-effective to run it at gold. As the difference between gold and hall of fame is a minuscule 2 frames. (110 frames gold and 108 frames for hall of fame)

Nice to Have:

Ball Stripper

This is a nice badge to have as it allows you the chance to stop a bigger player from driving to the rim, by being able to poke the ball loose.

Recommended Level: Bronze

No need to go crazy and dump multiple badge points into ball stripper, but having it on bronze just increases your chances of getting a stop.

Hot Zone Hunter

Hot Zone Hunter has been a staple in 2K as it gives a boost to shots taken in the player’s hot zones. HZH is a simple badge, take a shot in a hot zone and be rewarded for it.
Recommended level: Gold

Reason for level: The sweet spot for Hot Zone Hunter is gold as the boost between HOF and gold isn’t enough to warrant spending 2–3 more badge points.

Bail-Out

The Bail-Out badge ice badge to have as it allows us to pass shots or drives to the rim without the penalty of throwing the ball away. Sometimes a defender has a great close-out and we need to get the ball out of our hands.

Recommended level: Bronze

Reason for level: Bronze will allow you to pass out of a shot comfortably, however having this badge at Hall of Fame unlocks some pretty fun animations.

Best Badges for Wings and Bigs

Must-Have:

Posterizer

This is for the slashers in the 2K community, the posterizer badge will allow for increased chances of throwing down a dunk on an opponent. With the addition of the dunk meter this year, it has been seen that posterizer is a top-tier finishing badge.

Recommended level: Silver/HOF (slashers)

On any big or wing that isn’t a slasher, silver is the perfect sweet spot for posterizer, as silver gives a significant boost in converting poster dunks. If you’re a slasher who is able to reach the 99 driving dunk threshold, HOF is the way to go.

Clamps

The clamps badge this year doesn’t give a boost to lateral quickness like previous years but it does offer different cut-off animations whilst defending. As lockdown or a big, there are going to be times when you get switched on the ball and having clamps will make life easier.

Recommended level: Silver

The sweet spot for clamps is silver as referenced in an NBA 2K Tutes video. The video showcased that silver gave good enough bumps at nearly the same frequency as Hall of Fame clamps.

Brick Wall

Whether playing as the 3 in the City/Cruise ship or the 5 in Pro-Am and Rec, screens are a vital part of being successful. Brick Wall will not only set up your guard for open looks, but it will also open you for rolls or slips to the rim out of the pick n’ roll.

Recommend level: Bigs (Hall of Fame) Wings (Silver)

If you have a big man build with at least 97 interior defense it will be best to have the badge on hall of fame as it only costs one more badge point from having it on gold. As a wing, it is most efficient at silver in terms of cost to badge points, as it will only cost three badge points and cause opposing players to lose a good amount of energy per screen.

Catch And Shoot

One of the most important badges an off-ball player like a lockdown or stretch-big can have. Many times you’ll find yourself in catch and shoot situations and having this badge will boost all catch and shoot attempts.

Recommended level: Silver

Since most bigs and wings don’t reach an 84 3pt rating, having the badge on silver is recommended. Having catch and shoot equipped on silver boosts shot make percentage significantly.

Intimidator

Intimidator causes offensive players to have less success when contested by a player with the intimidator badge equipped. The badge doesn’t really help with contests on the perimeter, but it is very important when contesting shots in the paint. Having a high interior defense mixed with intimidator is going to make scoring inside much tougher on opponents.

Recommended level: Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame allows for more versatility and leaves some room for error on defense as it allows you to just be in the vicinity of an offensive player to affect their shot. If your build qualifies for HOF intimidation which is attained by having a 95 block it’s a must-have. If not whatever the highest level you can achieve for the badge is highly recommended.

Fast Twitch

The fast-twitch badge is for all of the inside bigs who are trying to throw it down on the opposition with authority. The badge speeds up the ability to get standing layups or dunks off before the defense has time to contest. In certain situations, a big has the opportunity to catch a pass down low, pump fake, and then activate fast-twitch and dunk on the opponent.

Recommended level: Hall of Fame
The speed boost in which you receive for having fast-twitch on hall of fame is a good amount, which gives no time for a defender who has already contested time for a second contest.

Tireless Defender

Tireless defender allows the defender to play defense more aggressively without losing energy. This badge is important for wings who play the lockdown role on the team and take the task of guarding the other team’s best scorer. This badge not only helps conserve stamina but also gives you some pretty good animations on defense.

Recommended level: Bronze

Having this badge at bronze gives a decent stamina boost for just one badge point. This is the closest thing to receiving free Gatorade boosts.

Corner Specialist

Much like the catch and shoot badge mentioned earlier, this badge will boost all shot takes from the corner of the court. As a 3 & D wing, the spot you will find yourself the most on offense is the corner, hence why this badge is important. Any chance you can give yourself a boost on a jump shot, you have to take it.
Recommended level: Gold

The success rate of well timed shots goes up significantly when having this badge equipped at gold. Spending 4 points to boost your jump shot is a good use of badge points as well as being able to combine it with the Catch & Shoot badge.

Worm

The worm badge will allow you to easily navigate around any box-outs you might find yourself in. It gives you much more favorable swim moves to get in position for an offensive or defensive rebound.

Recommended level: Hall of Fame

Rebounding is vital to winning and having worm on HOF will give you a much better chance of securing another possession for your squad.

Nice to Have:

Lob City Finisher

Gives you the ability to be a nice outlet for your guard on a broken-down play, and much easier to time lobs while having the badge equipped.

Recommend level: Bronze

Bronze lob city finisher is just enough to be a viable roll man or back door cutter on offense.

Hook Specialist

One of the more overpowered badges, but only used by 7’3 bigs. The post hook specialist badge will help you punish any mismatch on the floor.

Recommended level: Wings (Bronze) Bigs (Gold)

Bronze is the sweet spot hook specialist, where we see an increase in post hooks. Gold allows bigs to be able to hit hooks on other bigs more frequently.

Rim Protector

The rim protector badge makes the likelihood of blocks increase as well as unlocking special block animations such as snatch blocks. Even with a low block rating, you’ll start to notice you turn away more shots at the rim.

Recommended level: As high as possible

This is one of the badges where it’s best to equip at the highest possible you can achieve.

That will just about do it here, we hope that you find this guide helpful when choosing your badges. Remember that almost all the badges in this game have use, but the most effective badges that you will find will only be maximized by your own playstyle. The last thing is don’t be afraid to try badges you haven’t used or aren’t deemed as meta, maybe certain badge combinations are still out there waiting to be found. Happy 2King fellas!

Article contributed by Miles Peters