Stepping on the court for the first time in hopes of playing competitively in NBA 2K23Â can be an overwhelming sensation. While the NBA 2K franchise may not be the most realistic basketball simulation out there, the game does a lot to push skill over luck. These tips should be enough to get any ambitious beginner started and well on their way to dominating the court.
Beginner Tips for Stepping Up Your Game in NBA 2K23
Start With Shooting Practice
The first tip on our list is to start with shooting or practice. As one might expect, this helps develop the fundamentals of scoring baskets. In addition, developers have made it easier to make buckets in this year’s version of the game, where the green meter in the previous version is unavailable.Â
In addition, you now have to time your shots before releasing the pro stick or shoot button at different times. Since it depends on where you are on the court, players must learn court positioning and get to know the feelings of shooting from different places in the arena.
Turn off Shot Meter
As a beginner ready to play NBA 2K23, you must turn off the shot meter to win games. This can be disabled within the game’s settings. First, simply put, remove the distractions. The user interface is great for new players, even veteran players, but mastery of the game means knowing the timing versus being told the timing. Understanding this opens up the ability to use shot timing and other factors to your advantage. Second, this point stems from the first. Reducing the amount of visual information you have to perceive frees up a bit more focus for other parts of the game.
Learn About the Hot Zones
Learning about the Hot zones is a great way to make the game work for you. 2K buffed Hot zones to balance the focus on the fiddler and trickier shot meter. It means from the hot zone, you can pick a player to get a better boost.Â
You must practice with your favorite players and find out where their hot zones are to make their shots more consistent during a game. Learn this in practice mode before playing the actual game.Â
Learn How to Defend
Learning to defend correctly is just good strategy. If every good player understands the tips we mentioned before, then odds are you will not be on the ball 100% of the time and will need to know how to turn the tables when things get disadvantageous. This is where having a strong defense comes in handy.
Start From the Lowest Difficulty Level
Starting from the lowest difficulty level is the last tip on our list. This tip is for true beginners. To say it plainly, it’s not good to practice losing. While yes, there is much to be learned from each loss but having the freedom (that comes with less than competent AI) to experiment and learn what works helps you build a repertoire you can be confident in. Of course, the true test is taking what you learned to the higher difficulties and tweaking the game plan as you go along.
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