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So how do slashers, playmakers, and three-point shooters get better at locking opponents down if they need their primary focus to be on scoring? The answer is simple. With a few of NBA 2K22’s defense/rebounding badges, players can instantly go from being liabilities to turnover generating monsters.
Updated on May 12th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: Almost every build should at least dabble in defense and rebounding. Pure defense is a perfectly acceptable way to play a character, while pure shooting, finishing, and playmaking are, frankly, left wanting. As a result, nearly every viable build is going to have a good amount of Defense/Rebounding badges. However, not every build needs the same badges and some will be a waste. To help readers, a subsection has been added for each entry that identifies what kind of player should grab the badge in question. That way, players can take the badges that are right for them. Also, a description has been added at the beginning of each section that states exactly how the badge functions.
12 Ball Stripper
Raises the chances of stripping an opponent when they attack the basket.
One of the improvements this year has been the effectiveness of swiping the ball against slashers. The move itself is not only successful more often, but the animations are quicker and more accurate. This is bad news for slashers and great news for defenders.
To maximize this advantage, get this badge and watch how the steals start to stack up against players driving or posting up. This can eliminate the paint as a safe area for an entire game, forcing opponents to take high-risk shots from the outside instead.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Ball Stripper Badge
Centers and forwards will be the most obvious beneficiaries of this badge since they’ll most often have to come crashing to help out. Guards that like to play the boards may also find this useful if they are the type to use their speed for a quick double team on a charging opponent.
11 Pogo Stick
Improves the ability to recover and jump quicker after landing.
Pogo Stick is the badge that players like to pretend that they never need. They always act like it’s impossible to fake them out with a pump and they’ll never admit to misjudging the direction of a rebound. For those who live in the real world, Pogo Stick has some solid benefits.
The badge allows the player to jump again faster when they land, speeding up the overall animation and cutting down on the time flailing uselessly in the air. It’s good for getting back into position after missing a shot block or going for a rebound if the ball takes an odd bounce.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Pogo Stick Badge
Anybody who plays on the interior will find frequent use with this badge. Offensive post players will be putting up plenty of fake shots and it can be handy to get into position again quickly. It’s also good for an extra couple of rebounds each game for those who compete on the glass.
10 Rim Protector
Improves the ability to block shots, lessens the likelihood of getting dunked on.
Getting dunked on is more than just embarrassing. It provides a bonus to the opponent’s takeover meter and that of their teammates. So reducing the odds of that happening, even if the layup is successful, is a silver lining during these plays.
Rim Protector cuts down on these posterizing plays and adds the benefit of increasing blocked shots. A dominant center build will always have at least one badge in this, sending balls into the stands against anybody who tries to score in the paint.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Rim Protector Badge
It is possible to block shots on the perimeter but it is not at all likely. Guards who are purely focused on defending against longer shots won’t need this. But anybody that wants to be a presence in the paint will want to pick it up.
9 Rebound Chaser
Improves the player’s ability to chase down rebounds.
When a shot is up, coaches don’t just want the big men to put their bodies on the glass, they expect the whole team to participate. Rebounds give offenses second chances to come away with points and are the leading method of ending an opponent’s turn on offense.
The Rebound Chaser badge helps players judge where an errant ball is going to land and has them jump in the correct direction. The best power forward build will need to grab some badges here if they hope to compete with centers also hunting for rebounds under the rim.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Rebound Chaser Badge
This is the single most important badge for rebounding and has a use for anybody who cares about that statistic. All forwards and centers should get it for sure, but guards that like to crash the boards instead of getting into transition should also consider it. The Rebound Chaser is a requirement for regular triple-double games.
8 Post Lockdown
Improves the defender’s ability to defend post moves.
The post has been amped up this year after years of it being underwhelming. Now, it’s about too powerful, as players online are posting up and destroying opponents with fades and hooks. Because these moves can’t be conventionally blocked, even the best small forward design will look foolish without some help from other players.
But getting assistance disrupts the defense and leaves other players wide open. Instead, try investing points in the Post Lockdown badge, which is a flat increase to defense all across the board against players who are abusing these new post moves.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Post Lockdown Badge
Guards can pass on this one. Forwards and centers should all consider taking it, especially with the improved animations and accuracy from the post this year. Even with all the other defensive badges, a center or forward that lacks this will become a total disaster against opponents that play from the post.
7 Brick Wall
Increases the effectiveness of screens, is tough to back down in the post, and drains energy from opponents on physical contact.
The post is so dominant this year that it will probably take two different badges to fully neutralize it. Brick Wall makes it harder for opponents to back down their defenders in the post, keeping them away from the basket.
This badge gives the best return on investment of all badges by throwing in two other benefits.
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It also drains the opponent’s stamina on physical content, which is a key to winning online matches against speedy teams. Lastly, it improves the effectiveness of screens, which is a hotly demanded function in every online and AI mode available.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Brick Wall Badge
This badge can destroy in online tournaments. Set a screen and get the best shooters open. Big men should consider it a mandatory badge in online play. For others, it’s still useful for MyCareer gamers that want to be a good team player. Also, anybody who regularly matches up against post opponents should grab this to neutralize opponents with the best finishing badges.
6 Pick Dodger
Improves a player’s ability to navigate through screens effectively on defense.
Screens are a core component to winning online games and that doesn’t appear to be ending this year. Most coordinated teams get the ball into the hands of their best shooter, set a screen, get them open, then have them take the open shot.
If players don’t have Pick Dodger, there isn’t any way to stop this. Teammates can trade coverage, but the offensive player can shoot from directly behind the screening player, so this is no solution. Pick Dodger allows players to end this go-to strategy.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Pick Dodger Badge
Especially in MyCareer, every position will have to deal with the pick, so everybody can use this. However, it’s most useful for guards since getting screened can mean giving up an easy three-point bomb to fellow incredible rookies.
5 Pick Pocket
Improves a player’s ability to steal the ball from a ballhandler.
Experts love to show off their dribble moves, going for ankle breakers and cross-ups that leave all but the most studious defenders in the dust. Thankfully, the Pick Pocket badge enables players to simply swipe the ball away when one of these showoffs comes around.
This is important for point guards, but other positions actually stand to gain more from Pick Pocket. Because point guards tend to have the best ball protection skills, other positions have an easier time ripping the ball away.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Pick Pocket Badge
Before this year, the Pick Pocket was essentially a guard-exclusive badge. However, big men received boosts to statistical odds and animations when it comes to stripping the ball away, so those looking to swipe balls away against slashers to stop their awesome dunk animations before the resolve should also think about picking it up.
4 Clamps
Boosts the ability to stay in front of the ball handler on the perimeter.
There are all kinds of boosts players can add to their speed. For example, the Downhill badge adds speed to an offense in transition. Because the defense has no such speed bonus, the faster team can potentially just dart by opposing defenses every time, even if the defenders have maximum speed attributes.
This is where the Clamps badge comes it. It stops players from getting around clean on the perimeter. They can try to drive in, but with enough points in this badge, a defender will remain squarely in the way of the basket.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Clamps Badge
The Clamps badge is good for guards with weaker defenses or slower speeds. Since they will lose any time that an opponent gets past them, the Clamps badge is necessary to cut down on those situations. It forces competitors to stay on the exterior and try to win with an ideal custom jump shot, preventing easy looks from slashers.
3 Interceptor
Increases chances at getting steals in passing lanes.
The Interceptor badge is incredibly useful against AIs who love to travel along their pre-scripted paths as much as possible. Defenders that see the pattern and get around the screens can grab an easy snag on a ball passed to this man that the algorithm mistakenly believes is uncovered.
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But it’s also dominant in online leagues too. Playmakers get loads of badges to pass better, faster, and more accurately. Players can neutralize these advantages with only the Interceptor badge when they stand in the passing lane.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Interceptor Badge
To be in a position to swipe a passed ball in mid-flight, players will have to be fast, so this badge is only useful for faster players who can appear out of position and then quickly close the gap. It’s great against guards with superior dribble moves who look for open teammates, only to find that the Interceptor badge is ready for such trickery.
2 Defensive Leader
Boosts the defensive abilities of teammates when in the game.
Every team needs at least one player with a maxed-out Defensive Leader badge. This badge can boost every defensive attribute by four, the equivalent of several hundred thousand VC per player! It doesn’t work for the individual who equips the badge, but it’s strong enough as it is.
Most badges have some kind of prerequisite for getting the bonuses to activate, but the Defensive Leader badge functions for everyone on the court simply by the player playing the game. Two players can both use it, giving each other the substantial benefits.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Defensive Leader Badge
Coordinate this with online allies. Every team needs one player with the maxed-out badge and two with the badge are nice so that they can confer the benefit to each other but no more than that. In MyCareer, it’s a good choice for gamers who get sick of their team slacking off on that end of the court.
1 Intimidator
Intimidates offensive players causing them to miss shots more often.
If players get a single badge to spend on defense, it should probably be the Intimidator badge. Anybody the player covers is less likely to hit their shots. This goes for offensive players in the post, taking a mid-range jumper, slamming down a dunk, tossing up a layup, or launching a three-point bomb.
The only requirement is that the shooter is covered by the player. Amazingly, the defender doesn’t even have to be covering the opponent very well. So long as the badge holder is making some kind of effort, the shooter will simply hit less of their shots.
What Kind Of Player Should Get The Intimidator Badge
Without sounding hyperbolic, this is the one badge that every player of every build needs to max out. It works against every shot, layup, or even dunk so long as the person with the Intimidator badge is in the vicinity, making it too good of a benefit to miss out on.
NBA 2K22 was released on September 9th, 2021, and is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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