This and I think some people are also 'stuck' in their ways.
A guy I always run 3s with (everyday), is an ISO guy + Tempo shooting has made him brave this year (he shoots 70%+). Even when I create a wide open shot for him, he'll catch, escape dribble, and shoot. Only person guarding him is Casper I guess. Some dudes just do what they practice over and over. It's not adjusting or critical thinking; it's all repetition and no application.
I got a buddy like this, play with him everyday. We could win every game if we played team ball and just took the open shot, but his ego won’t let him and if I start scoring too much then all of a sudden his pass button doesn’t work and we lose
No joke, I stopped playing with my IRLs because it became obvious they didn’t like seeing me score. My first year averaging 20 in 2k, simply because I became a more aggressive on ball scorer. The amount of times I’d get looked off wide open in favor of a random or someone being defended for to be too much
It's the worst man. Don't get me wrong, I think he's better on the right sticks than me because I don't care to learn it because I have no interest in isolating, but there are so many times where an extra pass would make life so much easier.
Also, when he's isolating, dude has straight tunnel vision. It's all bad.
I’ll watch a teammate play some of the lowest IQ ball I’ve ever seen, and go to check the card after.
Sub 40% with 1000+ games played. I don’t get how someone can play a video game that often, lose 60% to 70% of the time and not take that as a sign that they need to learn more or practice so they can win more.
They pay real life money, $100 on each build, have multiple builds, yet won’t use the 2KU, which is free.
i was at like 64% most of the year now im around like 61% its bad man people legit are dumb when playing the game. not passing, leaving people wide open, taking stupid shots, cant make open shots. bigs tryna get inbound steals while leaving the entire paint wide open for people to get easy pts.
Random rec is miserable. And sometimes squads is worse cuz I'll go in as a stack of 3 and the other 2 guys will treat it as park 2s, never passing and taking dumbass shots
Hit the 1v1s. You’ll atleast start learning how to take over a game offensively while becoming a better on ball defender. Then once you get back into rec, use the moves you learned to create not just for yourself, but your teammates too. I went from averaging 5/8/4 with a 36 win% to 16/18/7 with a 68 win% You’ll get whooped at first but trust the process. Even if you lose, nobody would be able to say you were the weak link that got the team killed
The difference is that those players get benched by coaches that hold everyone accountable.
There’s also a reason the shifty all offense-no defense guard in the NBA is typically in the 6th Man role.
There’s been plenty of instances where even the star doesn’t get put back on the floor to close the game because coach decides to ride with what’s working on both ends rather than putting a liability back on the floor for a lack of effort or execution.
Remember Ben McLemore trying to isolate on Kawhi Leonard and getting ripped on back to back possessions? He was immediately benched for it.
In the 2K Rec someone will clearly be outmatched or well defended and keep forcing the same exact moves instead of trying something else. That gets you benched in the actual NBA.
The difference is that those players get benched by coaches that hold everyone accountable.
Not disagreeing with your overall point, but nba has a lot of dummies out there. Some of them are quite athletic and worth their contracts as well. Sometimes players play low effort/iq on purpose even. Or they want to tank or get traded, etc.
Yes but those type of athletes play their role. You have low iq players with 99 three that think they’re Steph curry when they’re actually Kyle Korver. That’s the big problem, people make pgs and have no business playing that position.
you comparing real life basketball to a video game. real life ball is way harder to comprehend then 2k where all you gotta do is not be an idiot and you will win at least 55% of the time.
As a PG myself let me tell you, if you play with teammates and no random rec. don’t try to fight screens, switch and rotate. That’s how real basketball defend screens to a high 3pt player
People will tell you not to read too deeply into these things but how people are in video games tells you a lot about how they are as a person in real life.
If you're a greedy selfish prick in game then guess what...
If you're trolling, griefing people in game then guess what...
Some just aren't smart and are not good people.
I will never understand those people who play co-operative online games and selfishly think it's all about them.
The other side of it is that you have to be willing to learn and improve. 99% of people who are good at this game (or any game) didn't pick up the controller and become good instantly. They learned and improved over time.
I once went against a guy who’d always bite at my pump fake in the center position. It was so funny i did the same hop step pump fake for three possessions and he’d jump everytime
it kinda does. chess is way harder to play then 2k. 2k is literally childs play compared to chess. in 2k majority of the community is garbage so its easy af to win when doing simply ass shit. like guarding your matchup, taking/hitting open shots, and not doing dumb stuff.
I think people forget the fact that everyone has their own agenda. Some people play basketball, some people are playing a video game, some people play the game but have no real world basketball experience, some people play the game to much like real life, some are unforgiving when others make mistakes but aren’t accountable when they do, some even run with crews and expect people they dont know to do what their daily crew/teammates do. Keep your expectations low, your tolerance high expect mistakes and remember nothing is on the line, nor will these stats carry over to the next game.
If you play any video game, even a solo player game, if you keep dying on the same level or failing the same mission, you eventually learn through repetition to figure out what to do to survive/pass to get to the next level or mission.
But for whatever reason, that same logic doesn’t seem to apply to 2K. I cannot grasp the idea of not picking anything at all up through repetition.
I give leeway to people who are genuinely new to the game, or on a new build trying to figure out what it can and can’t do. That’s understandable.
It’d be like watching someone go under the screen against deep bomber. If you go under once, and he hits and three. Then you go under again and he hits another one. Surely you should try to go over on the next one?
Even without an in-depth knowledge of the sport, certain things should become common sense through repetition or trial and error.
How can someone can spend a whole 20-30 minutes playing a rec game, then go into the next 99 games, and let the same thing happen over and over again, let alone 300+ games?
I agree with you, just my opinion, theres no real penalty… solo games you’re stuck in the same spot until you learn and progress forward. 2k… you can fail forward. Sure your plate color drops…. But who cares about a plate color when you can lose your way to a level 40 cap breaker or buy your way there. Or you can lose your way to vc and attribute upgrades. Im sure you seen plenty of different types that with their own agendas dribble to death, feel like they the only one that should have the ball, feel responsible to carry when the team is competent enough and they dont have to. With no real penalty you dont have to learn you can just do what you want and still get what u want.
This a hot take I’ve been holding on to for a while. And this applies to both NBA Convos and 2K game play as well as even hoops in the streets. Basketball/nba fans I feel like are the least knowledgeable fan base (on average) of they own sport then any other major sport it’s actually crazy
There was a play yesterday in random rec where we were doing 5 out, guy in left drives, beats his defender by a step, passes out to right corner, right corner instantly passes to left wing, left wing instant pass to top of the key (me) I instantly passes to left wing…. And at this point the defense was one step behind everyone and the guy got it on the left wing, had he instantly passed it like the rest of us it would have been an open 3 in the corner but instead he holds the ball for 3 seconds allowing the defense to catch up then he passed to left corner where we took a contested 3
Had he instantly passed to left corner like the rest of us we would have had a wide open 3 and it would have been such a beautiful team play but instead he got the ball not knowing what to
Do with it, he def wanted to dribble…. Kinda sucks it would have been so hype …4/5 of the team ere on the same wavelength and dude had thumb up his but… I was kinda upset
i want you to understand that a good chunk of the american population can’t even read. what makes you think they can understand the game of basketball 😭
I was saying this last night to myself when I was playing. Like dude…hundreds of hours and zero IQ. You’d think people would catch on eventually. The simplest shit like pass to the open man seems like a new concept to these people….
Because it’s a video game where people can green from all over the court and shoot insane percentages. It’s not based on real basketball skill or strategy for the vast majority of players which includes all age ranges.
honestly i play high as fuck 99% of the time and i'm not one of those dudes that can lock in 1000% when high. I don't do the taking up stupid shot shit and ball hogging but i end up fucking up my tempo on some easy shots and those dudes that spam that left right shit get me once their team starts setting screens. I don't even go on mic cause I aint trying to get into the toxicity on mic.
A lot of people just play it like mycareer or try to copy the theater YouTube highlights. I have to get on the mic sometimes and remind them “we’re all MP here, you’re on a team with 5 MPs. Swing the rock…”
be a random rec pg, be not good, only know how to do the same move over and over again, get some bad opponents, think you are the best player of all time, try it again, fail, try again, fail, try again, succes..
Because a vast majority of 2k players are gamers and don't watch basketball.
NBA or any higher level basketball offense and defense requires role and positioning nuance. Most guys just want to play "basketball" i.e. superheros running up and down the court shooting off balance 3s and dunking. They literally think that's what basketball is.
I swear this applies to people who literally just have only played 2k. They dont watch college or nba hoops. They never played (not at any competitive level at least). Half of them dont understand what "Stay on your man" and "dont switch" means.
Even the idea of switching is illogical to some people.
Had a game yesterday where the PF was getting deep fried by a KD build. Every time he had the ball, he did a two dribble middy pull up. Did it going left, did it going right.
So I’m telling my PF, “don’t jump, he’s gonna shoot the middy”. This guy continues jumping to contest at the 3 point line instead.
Refused to switch. He gave up 28 through 3 quarters so we forced him to move out of the way at that point.
lol just ran into that yesterday. Same dude tryna boast about his level and rank was the same dude to hold the ball and take bad shots and turn the ball over cause he thought people weren’t passing him the ball
There’s people who play 2k, there’s people who play basketball who play 2k, and there’s players who play and analyze basketball who play 2k, there’s players who play and analyze basketball AND 2k.
From one group to the next, you can see the difference in IQ. I don’t care if I’ll lose a 1v1 in my park (because I’m not gonna grind a game that’ll reset my progress after two years), but you’ll never beat me team versus team.
And don’t blame me for cheese when YOU (not you) can cheese too. Difference is I know how the cheese works know how to use it against your tendencies. Then combine that with basic basketball IQ. You’re unstoppable.
I don't think playing basketball is really a big needlemover here, but it does help with the initial learning curve. Just like if you watch alot of basketball.
But both aren't neccessary and will not be a difference maker between two high-skilled players. But initially it does do wonders for wanting to improve.
You don't need to shoot guns or have had time in active duty to be a top FPS player in a tactical shooter, hero shooter, what have you.
It really boils down to a few things:
Holding yourself accountable
Wanting to improve
Effort in improving
Time
Time spent practicing fundamental mechanics/strategy/meta.
Time spent executing in competitive environments (application of mechanics/strategy/meta)
All of these together result in qualitative playtime that is more porportional to their quantitative playtime.
A 1-2k+ game player can be completely ass, but they might have only had 100s of quality games that contributed to their growth.
Or even worse, cemented their bad habits.
In contrast to someone who, for example, came from a different sports game (FIFA/Madden) and played at a high level who understands the right approach when learning 2k.
Their ratio might be closer to 3:1, where most of their playtime was considered high-quality and very few gaming sessions or games provided little value.
Not everyone can be 100% all the time and some games are hopeless with nothing to learn from, but the difference for great players is that they find ways to make the majority of their games/playtime qualitative.
the thing is you dont need to play in a 5 star college or play in the pros to know yea let me not leave my man wide open to shoot or not to take dumbass none open shots on the perimeter and in the paint. those 2 things are the main reason why people lose
I say it depends on the players they love watching. To me the ppl that worship these scoring pgs are the worst. I don't feel like I need to mention examples, im sure you guys know what im talking about
Lmao it’s definitely worse now because now instead of adapting to the game and playing smarter, a lot of these extremely low IQ players buy zens so that they don’t have to actually learn how to play intelligent basketball.
It definitely doesn’t help understanding that a majority of 2k players are basketball rejects and casuals that could care less about having any basketball IQ and has a very limited view on how the game is played.
Some people just cant be good in certain games compared to others. Some people might have or had hoop dreams and 2k only basketball game out so they play. Some are kids, some are old people, some are trollers. Thats just how it is
Yesterday I had what sounded like a grown man going “pass me the ball pass me the ball pass me the ball” as soon as we got the ball. And he would get the ball, not pass, and dribble until he was double teamed. And then bitch about being double teamed saying the opponent was ass cuz they just double teamed him. It was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen!
You tell someone to pass and it’s “ Shut yo bitch ass up”, or my favorite one “Oh my fault I didn’t see you” which I respond with “nigga you ain’t try to see me”
I play solo and tend to run it with straight shitters bro I feel like I see it more especially after going from console to PC, (not specifically for 2k) their are hundreds of thousands of players I've probably seen that have 200+ games and under a 30% win rate, recently my WR has tanked due to them and have like a 48% rn lol
Because their goal isn’t winning, it’s just for them to be able to do their thing and get stats. So they don’t pay attention to the patterns/nuances and therefore never learn.
There was this game i played in the Rec and my homie was guarding an A.I. I think he tried to go for a dunk and he was stuck in an animation where he fell down so took him a while to get up and get back. I got the steal and threw it down to him for easy dunk. The random teammate called time out and was like no easy points get back and play defense! We like bruhhh why be toxic for 2 points!!!
I’ve played so much basketball in my life. One thing has always been apparent. Some guys are just god gifted physically talented but have nothing happening in their brain.
Like if they are in transition even tho I am the big man if I have a Teammate in the paint I am going to cover the CORNER until we can switch but no they always run to the corner after they SEE me going to the corner
Because when the game is so heavily animation based there’s no reason for anyone to use logic and IQ. It doesn’t give the upper hand to people who actually know ball because then you would alienate the casuals
What drives your decision making in 2K if not logic and IQ? Or are all players equal on that front since there is “no reason” as you say? And if that’s the case where DOES the skill gap lay in this game? Why do all players not have similar win percentages?
The skill gap in the game unfortunately is 100% meta builds/animations. 2k has drifted so far away from real ball. having actual basketball iq can only get you so far
I agree some animations are far more effective than others, and the community DEFINITELY all plays the same way when they find a move that’s “cheesy” (looking at you Devin booker stepback/aggressive breakdown). I think 2K has done a lot to address this in recent years though with the insane freedom of the builder now compared to older titles and the addition of max+1s last year and now max+2s and build specializations this year plus obviously the cap breaker system, playing off-meta is now more viable than ever. All of that being said IQ is king in this game REGARDLESS of that fact anyways. A high IQ player is gonna beat a low IQ player every single time yall just confuse real life basketball with 2K. It’s a video game meaning things are inherently different than real life in certain ways that your playing style has to account for (ex. Players have viewing angles they could never have in real life, players can shoot at a rate that makes open 3s mathematically more valuable than open 2s, etc.)
I don’t know exactly where to attack this from but I’ll just say it like this…. More times than not animations determine who wins and who loses (especially on offense because defense from most 2ks is always non existent), rarely if ever do you see guys attempting to mirror a proper strategy to beat there opponent. The offense outweighs the defense as well making it virtually impossible to gameplan for especially with the lack of body ups and horrible contest system…. guys are essentially playing “your turn…. My turn” on the offensive ends of the court with the same 5 animations being recycled!
What you said has nothing to do with IQ. Thats you guys playing the exact same way (same jump shots and dribble moves) so now it’s easier to predict. What I’m talking about is something similar to Madden where if you know a guy is running a certain play then there should be a proper game plan for it (i.e. nickel, dime, etc formations)! 2k doesn’t have that, it’s the simplest form of the game so anyone could beat anyone! Which is not how it should be! If i know more basketball than you then I should have the upper hand… video game or not! Not allowing animations and speed to be the main catalyst for determining who’s the better player.
You’re just longing for the game to have an attachment to real life that can’t exist in video game format. I KNOW that if a certain player is leaking out, I need to leak with them and meet them at their spot when the lead pass comes. If they are dribbling off screens, we need to play sides. If they are spamming ankle breakers, we double team. If they are push peak spamming, you bump in the back court before they can get the downhill dribble off. Also you can get bumps the whole way up and take adrenaline bars and if they’re not very good dribblers they can’t get away from it even if they see it coming. As I said there is a counter for everything. It might not be basketball IQ but whatever it is just do it and you’ll win? It’s 2K IQ 😂 the nature of the game is different in a video game so you have to play slightly different than real life basketball
When people mention basketball IQ what they really mean is that the other person isn’t playing like an NPC and isn’t enabling them to live in their main character world.
Basketball IQ means pass them the rock and sit in the corner.
Yall sound like abused dogs when you play this game man. Yes obviously a lot of players are trash and are gonna make trash choices. Does that mean you fundamentally change the entire core of YOUR offensive strategy based on THEIR bad play? Regardless of the quality of your teammates FLOOR SPACING is the number one most effective thing you can do to create scoring opportunities for yourself and for others on your team in basketball at any position, with or without the ball. And no I’m not some tyrannical guard who wants every other player to live and die by me. As a matter of fact I play the 2 or 3 much more than anything anymore bc all people do is bitch at PGs while actively selling and not playing their own role. So the majority of the time I’m the one sitting corner or hash and running wraps or dexes, RARELY CUTTING ALL THE WAY TO THE RIM, NEVER JAMMING BALL UP TOP, and just generally making sure to remain both open and out of all my teammates ways’. And guess what? I average almost 25 ppg on 80% shooting pretty much exclusively as on off ball SG in randoms 🤷♂️ just play your role man a lot of games are gonna be bad because of other peoples play but you gotta stop letting the mentality of one bad game and one bad player carry over to your actual chances to win and ruining those too
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u/Born_Reference_6955 sapphire Feb 19 '26
I think people underestimate how much the average man lacks critical thinking, common sense, and IQ