Dive into the definitive breakdown of the new NBA 2K26 MyPLAYER Builder, featuring a comprehensive guide to all the key changes and fresh features. Discover how this year’s builder system has been reworked to offer more control and depth than ever before. Get ready to create your perfect build with our detailed look at everything you need to know.
Animation Glossary
- The Animation Glossary is a new feature that lists every animation with details, attribute, and height requirements.
- Use the search function to find an NBA player you’re looking for, making it easy to see all the requirements you need to meet to equip their animations. Create your own build will sift through dozens of NBA player comparisons before choosing the best animations associated with the suggested players and assign them as default animations for a more enjoyable and streamlined experience from the start.
- Once you’ve made your own custom build, the MyPLAYER Builder is going to go through dozens and dozens of NBA player comparisons and then automatically pick the best animations from those players to give them to you right away as an option.
Jumpshots
- The Custom Jump Shot Creator now has a search bar to quickly find any player’s base or release, plus a Favorite system so you can save your go-to animations.
- Height will not play a factor in the size of the green window on open shots. So if the 6’8″ and 6’10” players have the same ratings, they’ll have the same sized green window.
Build by Badges
- The new Build by Badges feature can help shape the framework for your MyPLAYER.
- Choose your desired badges and tiers. bronze, silver, gold, hall of fame, and legend.
- The minimum attribute points required will automatically be locked in. Spend your remaining attribute points to max out categories of your choosing and reach a 99 potential overall without missing out on your must-haves.
- The same badge system from last year is returning for NBA 2K26. 2K is “doubling down on something that works, rather than changing just for the sake of change”
Badge Perks
- Max +1’s are back and now there are Max +2’s
- Max +1’s push badges one tier beyond their max potential and Max +2’s take them two tiers higher.
- Badge perks are permanent on your account once earned and can be used on any save if the Build Specialization path selected has already progressed to earn the Max+ reward.
- Takeover Surge, Hot Start, and Clutch Gene are perks that temporarily boost your badges up one tier in different game situations. They can even boost a badge beyond their max potential.
Scouting Reports
- Scouting Reports display your best badges and attributes and coaches you on your strengths and weaknesses.
- For example, if you make a point guard with a low pass accuracy rating, the builder will flag this as an area of concern and potential detriment to your teammates.
Build Specialization
- Build Specialization Goals allows you to enhance MyPLAYER’s potential in a specific skill area
- For each save, you can choose 1 of 5 areas to specialize in: playmaking, shooting, finishing, defense, or rebounding. Each area has 9 unique goals that test your abilities in that specialty.
- Mastering these will earn rewards tailored to each skill area: including skill boosts, unique apparel and cosmetics, new archetype names, cap breakers for that skill area, and permanent max +1 and max +2 badge perks.
- Quest completion can transfer between saves. Example: On save 1 you select Rebounding and compete 5 quest on that save. You create another save and select Rebounding as your path again, you will start at Quest 6 and be able to use the previous 5 quest rewards.
- These quests were designed to be a grind and allow you to work on improving your MyPLAYER over time. There are some really cool and impactful rewards that make it worth it.
- Build Specialization quests can be completed either in your single player NBA MyCAREER or in multiplayer modes – the choice is yours.
Cap Breakers
- Cap Breakers aren’t just back, they’re evolving
- Each cap breaker will still raise your highest rated and strongest attributes by one points, but if you choose to apply them to your lowest rated attributes, you will see larger boosts.
- You can even raise an attribute by double digits and see a significant improvement
- Cap Breakers earned via Build Specialization must be applied within the attribute category you specialized in, or applied to a Physicals attribute. For example, if you earn a Shooting Cap Breaker via Build Specialization, you can apply that Cap Breaker only to Three-Point Shot, Mid-Range Shot, Free Throw, Speed, Agility, Strength, or Vertical.
Takeover
- 44 Takeovers, 11 Abilities
- Earn the Custom Takeover reward to choose how to dominate
- Select which attributes you want to boost and pair them with any Takeover Ability your build can use. Equip up to 3 Attributes.
- You can boost any non-physical attribute via Custom Takeover, regardless of your current rating for that attribute.
- Once you have unlocked Custom Takeover, you will receive 4 Custom Takeovers to edit. You can edit each one as you please between games.
Rebirth
- Rebirth has multiple tiers this year, letting you carry over more progress from your existing saves than ever before.
- Silver Rebirth is unlocked at 90 overall and allows you to instantly unlock any newly created MyPLAYER’s maximum potential to the highest overall rating that you previously reached.
- As you reach 95 overall across new saves, you will unlock Gold, Hall of Fame, and Legend Rebirth. These new Rebirth tiers automatically upgrade your badges to their respective level once attribute requirements are met.
Misc.
- NBA 2K Template Builds, Pro-Tuned Builds, and Community Builds return for NBA 2K26
- There is a new body type potential preview on the right side. This is a visual preview that you can use the right stick to scroll through and you’re going to see the different body types your build can eventually unlock.
- 2K is working on an official submission process for builds. So that if you are a community member, you love making builds, you make content on them, 2K is going to try to make a process for you to submit your build for consideration.
- The max height for my players is now going to be 7’4″
- There are roughly 10 times the number of build / archetype names compared to last year. 4,200 unique archetype names vs 300 last year.
- Some new build names in NBA 2K26: Iso Sniper, Iso Savant, Flamethrower, Cash Out, Fluid Four, No-Fly Zone, Big Glide, Launchpad
- Changes to how attributes tie into each other were made, with optimizations to ensure the Builder is balanced. Some of the more notable changes are that your Speed With Ball potential cannot be higher than your Speed potential, and raising your Close Shot potential will also raise your Driving Layup potential.
