Your MyPlayer is one of the true cores of the NBA 2K experience and it’s no different in NBA 2K23. Your MyPlayer is the creation that likely took you close to an hour to perfect as you tried to find the position, height, weight, and attributes that felt right.
Once you’ve built your legend, now it’s time to hit the courts and help him become the G.O.A.T. There are many ways to improve your MyPlayer. One way, of course, is simply by leveling up their attributes until they’re maxed out. However, that can take a lot of time. Yes, it’s true, if you have the VC to spend, you can get your MyPlayer all the way up to 85 right off the bat, which is really good overall but it may not be the 95+ you’re dreaming about.
So, what’s another way to give your MyPlayer that extra basketball caffeine? There are different “boosts” so to speak that can elevate your game no matter what your overall rating is. No, these won’t make you an unstoppable force as a 60 overall “brown shirter” but when you’re at an overall where you feel comfortable to hit the streets of The City or the decks of the GOAT Boat, these boosts will come in handy. Oh yeah, you can take advantage of these in NBA games as well.
What better way to boost your game in NBA 2K23 than by, well, buying boosts? Boosts have been a staple of sorts in the longtime basketball franchise since around 2K16 or so. Keeping with the tradition, these boosts have remained and you can find them by hitting the pause menu, going to Progression, and then down to Get Boosts. On old gen, you can just pull up your phone and get them there.
These boosts will add five attribute points to each of your attributes, depending on which ones you choose. You can also get one of each to help boost everything from shooting to finishing, playmaking, rebounding, etc. You can purchase up to 99 boosts each meaning they’ll be active for 99 games. It’s safe to say that this will last you a while.
There is a catch. As expected, such boosts will come at a cost. However, it’s only 200 VC for one boost. Certainly, this can add up if you’re buying boosts for 70 games or so. That said, if you’re more focused on one attribute type then that’ll run you 10,000 VC for 50 games. Also, a great thing is that you’ll get boosts a TON from the Daily Prize statue on new gen and the treasure chest on old gen. Most of the time it’s for three games or so but sometimes it’s more than that. Combine the free ones with the ones you purchase and you’ll be stacking these boosts in no time.
So these don’t give you the five points on your attributes but they do improve your skills by a tick, not to mention they’re permanent. You can unlock different accessories for your MyPlayer that will give you a +1 boost on specific attributes in NBA 2K23. This is another thing that has been in previous 2Ks that has returned.
Most of the time these are arm sleeves, calf sleeves, etc. and they can typically be earned by leveling up in The City or on the GOAT Boat. You can get these in other ways as well such as collecting 40 stars in the Jordan Challenge. One of the rewards there is a calf sleeve that gives you a +1 boost for your driving dunk rating.
The only thing here is that these accessories are only for City/GOAT Boat players so you won’t be able to rock these in The Rec or in NBA games. But if you do love playing Park games then these will come in handy. Combine these with the boost cards and you’ll be golden out on the courts.
Another NBA 2K staple — and a huge one at that — are badges. These badges have been around for more than 10 years now, but when they first were featured it was only five of them per player and they were much more general. Now badges have evolved and these ones are more specific to certain areas of your MyPlayer’s game. You also have a tier system from Bronze to Hall of Fame, depending on your MP’s set attributes.
With so many badges in NBA 2K23, take full advantage of them. This should be a given but definitely make sure to set the badges that are absolutely the best for you as these will give you boosts that are permanent. For example, if your Rebound Chaser badge is Gold or Hall of Fame, you’ll notice your MyPlayer’s improved ability to go after boards, especially those that seem a bit out of reach.
Don’t worry, you can switch around badges freely once you unlock enough badge points by playing games and performing well in any of the four main categories (Finishing, Shooting, Playmaking, Defense/Rebounding). So, these aren’t boosts per se like the items we mentioned earlier, but they can definitely elevate your game and be critical to your MyPlayer’s success on the court.
Colin Mieczkowski has been a writer for Operation Sports for a bit now and loves golf and basketball games. In addition, he's really been bewitched by the Steam Deck and has been looking for any and all ways to play sports games on Steam's portable device. When he's not playing PGA Tour 2K, NBA 2K, or EA Sports PGA Tour, you can find him watching plenty of sports on TV.
