The NBA 2K26 MyPLAYER build cost is a hot topic every year, as players weigh the grind against buying virtual currency (VC) to max out their build. If you’re wondering how much VC it takes to upgrade your build and whether spending money is worth it, we’ve broken down the numbers for both grinding and buying VC. Here’s a full look at the real cost of maxing out your MyPLAYER in NBA 2K26.
How Much Does a Build Cost in NBA 2K26?
- To get to an 85 overall takes approximately 190,000 VC, or about $50 in real money
- To get to 99 overall, we can expect something close to 375,000 VC approximation, if anything like last year’s amount. This would be about $100 in total to max out a build.
Comparison: Buying VC vs Grinding
The current reality is – if you want to be competitive online, you’re going to need to spend VC – especially early on. This has just become the accepted reality of playing NBA 2K online. It’s the fastest shortcut to upgrading your MyPLAYER build. If that’s not the route you want to go, the next best thing is having a ton of patience.
So let’s do the math: The closest option to reaching 85 OVR as soon as possible is to buy 200,000 VC for $49.99. If you were to earn 200,000 VC the old-fashioned way by grinding games, you’d likely average about 1,000 VC per match at best, which comes out to roughly 200 games at minimum. That could take weeks or even months. While it’s doable if you have the time and patience, it’s far from ideal for players who want to compete right away.
Whether to buy VC right away or grind is a personal choice, depending on your own priorities. Someone who just plays MyCAREER and likes the “no money spent” journey of leveling up from 60 OVR to 99 OVR may be better off not buying VC. But if someone is hardcore about NBA 2K26 online and wants to hop in and compete from day 1, will need to spend money on VC if they want to be up to par vs the competition.
Bottom Line
The $50 shortcut saves you potentially weeks of grinding, but whether it’s “worth it” depends on how seriously you play NBA 2K.
