Reference
NBA 2K Glossary
The terms you see in badge and build guides, in plain English.
- Badge
- A special ability on your MyPLAYER that boosts a specific skill, like Limitless Range for deep threes or Pogo Stick for repeat blocks. Badges have tiers, and higher tiers give a bigger boost. Every badge across 2K15 to 2K27 →
- Signature Skills
- The system badges replaced in NBA 2K15. NBA 2K13 had 31 of them (up to five per player) and 2K14 added six more; they fired automatically in the right situation. Every 2K13 and 2K14 skill →
- Badge tiers
- The levels a badge can be upgraded through: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Hall of Fame. NBA 2K25 and 2K26 added a Legend tier above Hall of Fame; 2K27 folded it back to four tiers.
- Hall of Fame badge
- The top tier in most games. It needs the highest attribute rating for that badge, and in older games it needed the gameplay requirement repeated several times. Easiest and hardest Hall of Fame badges →
- Legend tier
- An extra tier above Hall of Fame that existed in NBA 2K25 and 2K26.
- Badge points
- The currency used in NBA 2K20 through 2K22 to add or upgrade badges. In 2K21, Bronze cost 1 point, Silver 2, Gold 3 and Hall of Fame 4. How 2K21 unlocking worked →
- Attribute requirement
- The minimum rating in a specific attribute (like Three-Point Shot or Driving Dunk) that a badge needs before you can equip it at a tier. Introduced with 2K21 and used since.
- Unlock count
- In NBA 2K15 to 2K19 you earned badges by doing something a set number of times, like making 25 corner threes in a season. Old-game unlock counts →
- Takeover
- A temporary power-up that activates when your meter fills, boosting your player for a short time. In recent games the boost depends on your archetype. Takeover requirements →
- Archetype
- A preset build type, like Sharpshooter or Slasher, that sets the starting attributes and badge options for a MyPLAYER.
- Build
- Your finished MyPLAYER: position, height, weight, attributes, badges and Takeover.
- Attribute cap
- The maximum rating you can reach in a category, set by your archetype and height. Caps decide which badge tiers you can ever reach.
- Height range
- From 2K24 onward each badge only works for players within a set height range, shown on its requirement page.
- Contested shot
- A shot taken with a defender close enough to affect it. Several badges, like Deadeye, reduce the penalty for these.
- Open shot
- A shot with no defender close enough to contest it, which gives a larger shooting bonus.
- Contact dunk
- A dunk finished through physical contact with a defender. Posterizer and Contact Finisher boost these.
- Contact layup
- A layup attempted while a defender hits you at the rim. Relentless Finisher lowers the energy cost of these.
- Pick and roll
- A play where one player sets a screen for the ball handler, then moves toward the basket. The player who sets the screen is the roller.
- Pick and pop
- A pick and roll where the screener steps out for a jump shot instead of rolling to the rim. The Pick & Popper badge boosts these shots.
- Hot zone
- A spot on the court where a player shoots especially well. Hot Zone Hunter boosts shots from a player's hot zones.
- Green release
- A perfectly timed jump shot, shown by a green indicator. Green Machine rewards chaining them.
- Size-up
- A dribble move where you stay in place to read and set up the defender before attacking.
- Step-back
- A dribble move that creates space by moving backward, usually into a jump shot. Space Creator boosts these.
- Hop step
- A move where you hop into a layup or jump shot, often to avoid a defender.
- Euro step
- A layup approach where you take two steps in different directions to get around a defender.
- Floater
- A short, high-arcing shot over a taller defender, also called a teardrop. Tear Dropper boosts floaters and runners.
- Alley-oop
- A pass thrown near the rim that the receiver catches and finishes in the air. Lob City Passer and Lob City Finisher boost the pass and the finish.
- Chase-down block
- A block from behind on a fast break. Chase Down Artist boosts the speed and leap for these.
- Box out
- Using your body to keep an opponent away from the rebound. Box and Boxout Beast improve it.
- Drop step
- A post move where you pivot toward the baseline to get past a defender. Dropstepper boosts it.
- Up and under
- A post move where you fake a shot, then step under the defender for a layup.
- Wedge
- In 2K21, the sections of the creation pie chart, sized small, medium, large or giant. They set how high your badges could be upgraded.