One of NBA 2K’s most attractive modes every year is MyCareer, this mode allows you to literally build your own player from scratch and try to become an NBA legend. Each position presents its own unique outlook and set of challenges but in this article, I will look at the best ways to turn your Center build into a world-beater.

NBA 2K22 MyCareer Tips for Centers (PS4)

MyPlayer Build

This is essential to get right, your MyPlayer build affects everything from your starting point to your stat caps and undoubtedly has to be done right or you run the risk of severely holding yourself back down the line.  For Center’s your main goal is to find the best mix between athleticism and physical assets, in years past this was an impossible mix to get as you had to be both strong and agile to compete with the league’s best Centers. In NBA 2K22, the physical aspect has been tuned down so much so that strength is no longer an essential component for a Center which provides some flexibility. What I’d recommend is aiming to be a glass-cleaning inside finisher who can grab rebounds at will and finish high percentage chances in the paint. Here are the best choices for your build

Skill Breakdown: Choose the one that’s about 70% red with an even finishing, shooting, playmaking distribution

Physical Profile: With strength and physicality being less important than ever choose one with a good balance between Agility and Verticals.

Potential: Max out both Rebounding stats, Blocks, Interior Defending, Free Trhwos, Pass Accuracy, Close Shots, Standing Dunks, and distribute other points between defensive and finishing skills (specifically the driving layup and dunk)

Height: Keep this at around 6’10 as that will improve driving finishes a lot while causing minimal damage to blocking and rebounding.

Weight: 215 lbs or under is ok here, this will improve Speed and Acceleration a tonne which will become a major asset as your overall improves.

Wingspan: 92.0 there’s no reason to not go with the biggest wingspan possible as it boosts standing dunk by 11 points and provides a bump to blocking and rebounding caps with very few drawbacks.

Takeover: Both have their equal benefits so either one can work

If done correctly the final screen should compare the build to Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert, and Bill Russell.

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What To Boost First

Now that we have a solid build for success it’s time to walk through the best way to succeed from the beginning. Obviously, Rome wasn’t built in a day so this can take time. Unless of course, you’re one of the lucky players with a 100,000 VC starting point. Regardless of your starting point, my recommendation is to pump all your VC into the blocking skill, then rebounding, then free throws, before moving on to the various different finishing skills. With your height you should be able to finish fairly decently inside the paint without any boost so increasing the defensive stats immediately is the best way to go. A smart player could be leading the league in rebounds per game and blocks within 2 seasons with high blocking and rebounding stats.

Badges

Defensive

The very first thing I can recommend is to HOF the Rim Protector badge to become a god of defending in the paint. The Intimidator and Rebound Chaser badges should follow, also to HOF standard. Getting Box to silver and Chase Down Artist to HOF should be the next badges upgraded to further improve all-around defensive capabilities. At that point, it likely won’t matter how you use the remaining badges but any mix of the Interceptor, Worm, Pogo Stick, Brick Wall, and Clamps should be sufficient.

Shooting

With my recommended build there’s only 1 badge available for shooting. I have rarely needed to shoot with MyPlayer from outside the paint but the Catch & Shoot badge is slightly helpful

Playmaking

Like shooting, there’s only 1 badge available here and I will always recommend the Break Starter.  With my focus on rebounding it is essential to be a good playmaker from the paint and this badge was always in use.

Finishing

While being a defensive monster is the primary benefit of my build the inside finishing capabilities are a close second and will eventually turn you into a paint-scoring nightmare for opposition defenses. Getting Slithery Finisher and Fearless Finisher to gold is a must and should be your first plan of attack. I would then recommend getting Grace Under Pressure and Rise Up to Gold to further expand your player’s inside scoring capabilities. I would then top it off with something like Putback Boss as I try to get a lot of offensive rebounds but if you aren’t going to chase offensive boards as much then increase the Posterizer or Lob City badges.

In-Game Tips

The very first thing I always do is the weekly workouts in the Neighbourhood mode. This provides a real-time stat boost that lasts for a week and can be the difference between getting away from the defender on a fastbreak or being caught and trapped. Each different workout has its own minigame and it’s up to each individual to find the ones they excel at and play those, I can recommend trying out the battle ropes for an easy maximum boost. Just put the controller down and use your palms to keep the rhythm going, it’s much easier than using your thumbs.

Defending

Now, with all that out of the way we have the actual Basketball, you can have the right build, the best stats, and everything mapped out but if you don’t understand what it is you’re tasked with doing then you’re doomed to fail. My build is not compatible with anyone who wants to sling 3’s to become the new Steph Curry. The main things I focus on with this build early on are rebounds and screens. With the height and wingspan of this build, it is easy enough to pull down a couple of rebounds per game even before I get a chance to improve my speed and agility which will eventually turn me into a rebounding machine. Just play smart on defense, box out, and stay in between the player you’re tasked with guarding and the basket to provide solid defense and get a good teammate grade. On offense, I set as many screens as possible, over time I learn what players can maximize screens and work with them as setting a screen for a player who scores earns a big boost to my teammate grade. Stick to these basics and you’ll find yourself earning a decent amount of VC in every game.

As your overall increase, so to will your speed and agility. Once you become confident in your ability to rebound you can start getting a bit riskier and attempt blocks or to pressurize a smaller guard entering the paint. Blocks are easier to get in NBA 2K22 than ever in my opinion, learn the difference between the two main types of blocks to further maximize your defensive presence. As your badges and overall keep increasing you’ll find it easier and easier to completely dominate the defensive paint and you can start focusing more on your offensive play.

Finishing

By the time I was happy with my defending skills I was fast enough to cause problems for opposition defenses, specifically on fastbreaks where I can drive through the middle and dunk the ball for easy points. You won’t be fast enough to lap every Center in the league but you should be more than capable of leaving a number of them a step or two behind to give you space to score.  On non-fastbreak plays, second-chance points will be your best friend, get in front of your defender at whatever cost and move to the rim to put yourself in a prime position to put away an easy layup. In addition, I’d recommend making the most of any size advantage, if you’re suddenly being guarded by the opponent’s five-foot-tall Point Guard it’s safe to say you’ll be able to put away a layup easily once you get your hands on the ball in the paint.

Again as you get better and earn more badges you’ll become a force in the paint and should easily be able to average a double-double.

Playmaking

This is a much smaller aspect of your role as a Center but being a capable passer will be a huge asset to your team and earn you a lot of goodwill with teammates.  As a center, it’ll be impossible to pull of needle-thread passes against a tight defense but that doesn’t mean you’re useless.  The main thing I can recommend is to work on your outlet passing, when you pull down a defensive rebound hit R1 to bring up Icon Passing, and pass it to an open winger at the halfway line or to a player in space making a drive through the middle also at the halfway point. The keyword there is SPACE, don’t get too tricky with it and make sure you leave a lot of room for error with the pass as it’s very unlikely you’ll make the perfect pass but given the right amount of space your teammate will do whatever they can to keep hold of the ball.  I have the same advice for passing in the opponent’s half, use the icon passing and pass it to a player who is open there’s no need to get too complicated with it.

Those are just about all of the NBA 2K22 MyCareer tips I can give for the Center posotion. Follow the steps as I’ve laid out and you should be a monstrous presence for any team in no time who racks up as many rebounds as points.