Introduction
NBA 2K20 allows its players to live out their basketball fantasies with its MyPlayer feature. Want a player who is dominant in the post like Shaq with the passing ability of Chris Paul? Why not? Or how about Dwyane Wade with Steph Curry’s shooting ability? Go for it, the possibilities are endless. However, because of the vast range of choices, you can easily make mistakes on your build you will regret later; and with no capability to reallocate your attributes, you’d have to create an all-new player from scratch. Unless you have an insane amount of time on your hands that isn’t an option for most people. This guide is purposed for those who wish to get it right the first time.
Shooting is the most important aspect of the modern game of basketball. If you aren’t a threat from the outside, defenses can collapse on your team, making your options limited to create offensively. Yet, what’s the point of being a Sharpshooter if you’re only going to give up points on the defensive end of the floor? Having the ability to defend is only second to shooting, and that needs to be reflected in your build in order to be a consistent defender. This build allows you to be an absolute marksman on the court but capable of putting the clamps on your match up. This sharpshooting build is arguably the best of its kind and will ensure you aren’t wasting your time (or money!) on a MyPlayer that is deeply flawed. You will become the real deal if you follow this build guideline closely:
Position: Point Guard
Yes, you will be a facilitator but that isn’t your primary focus of this build. Instead, you will play more as a Shooting Guard, especially early on when you don’t have your badges available. Playing the Point Guard position is more about your real-life basketball IQ, so you can punish your match up with the 15 playmaking badges you’ll end up with.
Height: 6’5
You will lose speed and agility by choosing this height. That does not matter. You will still end up in the 80ish range which is more than enough to stay in front of your match up. Of course, you’ll have to be more strategic with your placement on the floor, but the height advantage is crucial for the defensive aspect of your game.
Weight: 180 lbs
I wouldn’t worry so much about the weight other than to keep
it on the low side. We aren’t here to allocate anything into the strength
attribute as a sharpshooter.
Wingspan: Default
Don’t change this, having T-Rex arms will only help your shot marginally and make you a defensive liability. On the other hand, you don’t want to hurt your shot by giving your player those Ab Lincolns.
Takeover: Sharpshooter
Obvious, really. If you are doing your job as a shooter you will get your takeover easily. The shot creating takeover can be a good alternate as well, if available.
Physical Profile
Choose the profile at the very top for the highest speed and acceleration. You should hover around 80-83 depending on the height and weight you decide on. Again, it isn’t necessary for our sharpshooter to have a high strength and a 65-70 vertical is all we need to make that chase down block.
Set Your Potential
Here’s the meat and potatoes of this build guide. The goal is to have 1/28/14/11. Perhaps the biggest surprise in this section is how low the driving dunk attribute is. To get the best out of your sharp, you must sacrifice this stat. Fortunately, we can still finish at the rim with a decent driving layup and close shot. In NBA 2K20, 30 shooting badges is completely unnecessary. Heck, even 28 is a luxury, as some of the best shooters typically have around 16-20 badges. However, your job as a sharp should be able to create a shot when one isn’t available. You can’t just be a spot up shooter, a great defender will cut off your lanes. With 28 badges essentially any shot you take in the half court is a
good shot.
- I made a slight adjustment on my playmaking badge to get 15 even, so if you tweak post moves and your close shot a bit you may land an
extra badge.
- It is crucial to max out every defensive stat, with the exception of offensive rebounding. As a sharpshooter at the guard position you must be able to stop the opposing teams’ best players. Since we’re creating a point guard, your match up will probably be just that, which can be some of the toughest defensive covers in the game. With the versatility of your defensive attributes, 11 defensive badges, and your height advantage, you will be able to cover any position from 1 to 3.
Badges
Here are the recommend badges you should consider when playing the sharpshooter. Depending on your personal preference you can shift these around but I recommend keeping the shooting badges where they are.
Finishing
Your job isn’t to drive to the hole. However, you will have to on fast breaks or when you create for an open lane. The only badge you need is consistent finisher, as you get the most bang for your buck with just a single badge allocation. This is particularly useful if you decide to shoot without the shot meter (I advise all sharpshooters to do so) as this will apply to layup timing as well.
Shooting
Your bread and butter. This set up will make your game truly mimic Steph Curry. Why is nothing into difficult shot? Well, as 2K Labs have proven, difficult shots only increase your moving shot at a +1 per badge for a total of +4 at HoF. This does not affect the shot percentage directly thus, there are simply better options for your precious badge points. Keep in mind, badges such as Hot Zone Hunter, Volume Shooter, Green Machine, and Corner Specialist increase your difficult shots as it is. Most sharpshooters have no problem hitting moving shots without investing in Difficult Shots at all.
Playmaking
With Quick First Step, Space Creator, and Tight Handles you will be able to create separation when the open shot is not available. You aren’t a shot creator; thus, you don’t need all the dribble badges. Instead, once your shot begins falling and you get hot you can expect to start getting double teamed. By having Needle Threader and Dimer you can make your opponent pay for gravitating towards you. Bail out is a MUST have badge for a Sharp as your first option on offense should be to shoot. However, you might get hit by a close out or begin a bad shot and Bail Out truly works wonders to save yourself from a turnover.
Defensive
Hold on. We need to make two for this section:
The category where you’ll need to do the most deliberation over is Defense/Rebounding depending on your preferred activity. For The Park I recommend the top, as you will run into an astounding amount of guards that create through Brick Wall screens. For The Rec, I recommend the bottom one. Your specialty will be blocks and playing lanes with your decent length. While you’ll run into screen in the Rec as well, it is a lot easier to defend with solid team rotations.
Final Items:
- A priority for your sharp will be to learn your shot by heart. The sooner you can turn your shot meter off, the quicker you will be able to take the next step as a shooter. Be sure to take the time in practice or with the Ball Machine in MyCourt to master your shot.
- The shot I use is Ray Allen. This is a popular base among 2K league shooters for good reason. Feel free to mix up the release but I simply use the default version.
Thank for you reading my guide and I hope this build serves you well in the future. Keep an eye out for more NBA 2K20 content with the #1 geek culture destination The Game Fanatics!
