NBA 2K23 preview: New gameplay, controls, badges, and more

NBA 2K23’s designers are emphasizing drive-to-the-hoop gameplay with several features and changes, including more dynamic dunking with new right stick commands, an “Adrenaline Boost” to help them beat defenders off the dribble, and a long-overdue return of a one-button passing command to get AI teammates open and attacking the rim.

“Last year was very perimeter-oriented,” gameplay director Mike Wang said in a media presentation on Tuesday. “It felt like, if you got an open look, anybody can hit that shot. There’s a lot more skill that goes into shooting this year. As for the slashers, who maybe felt a little left out with the scoring last year, I think they’re going to feel more empowered.”

NBA 2K22 This was an example of a game where larger players (forwards and centers) felt excluded from playmaking. AI teammates seldom took initiative outside of running set plays. Additionally, shot coverage — how much a defender denies their opponent an open look at the basket — had an outsize effect on shot success even if advanced players went into the menus and turned that option all the way down to zero.

NBA 2K23 will supplement its changes to playmaking and shot creation with another set of changes to the badges system, which underpins the game’s engrossing career modes for created players. Wang and developers will implement a tiered approach to badges. These are loadsouts of perks that differentiate players beyond their basic attributes.

“The tiered badge system, it makes you really think about how you want to equip your badges on your player, and in trying to figure out how to use some strategy in how you want to play a certain game,” Wang said. Basically, players can’t just load up on the best perks early in their star’s development; they must equip a certain number of badges in lower tiers before getting access to the higher-ranked ones.

The complete, item-by–item accounting NBA 2K23’s gameplay changes was published Wednesday morning on the game’s official blog. Here are some of its highlights

• New options are available for shot meters for shooters who prefer this method of shooting (most). There is also new visual feedback for players’ shot attempts. Wang explained that this was a request of the community.
• Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X version of the game will have the Lead to Basket return pass. This function works the same in both PS4 and Xbox One. To send the receiver you want, press Triangle/Y and then release the button to complete the pass.
• There’s also a new Spot Up passing mechanism, which is somewhat the inverse of Lead to Basket in that it instructs an AI teammate to get open on the perimeter.

Image by Visual Concepts/2K Sport

• Every player can have three Adrenaline Boosts per possession. This will allow players to sprint past their opponents faster than with the trigger turbo. However, players who exhaust all of their Adrenaline boosters during a possession will experience a decrease in their speed and acceleration.
• On defense, shot blocking has been toned down considerably, “to a more realistic level,” 2K Sports said, “leading to more predictable outcomes, with the right players making appropriate stops when timing their block attempts well.”
• A new “Semi-Pro” difficulty level, coming between Rookie and Pro, will smooth out a difficulty spike for some beginning players, improve accessibility, and their learning process.

NBA 2K23 Launches Sept. 9, for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (Windows PC), Xbox One and Xbox Series X. The Jordan Challenge, a collection of great moments from Michael Jordan’s career, returns to the series after 11 years. The Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker stars on the cover of the main edition, while Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi star on the WNBA 2K23 Edition’s coveer.