NBA 2K24 continues the longtime tradition of having badges that boost the skills of players in the game, including MyPlayers. This feature has been a staple in 2K since 2K15, especially for Park (now City) players.
Players usually allocate their attribute points on their MyPlayers in order to get certain badges. In 2K24, there are 24 new badges in honor of the late, great Kobe Bryant who of course wore the number 24 for a large portion of his career and is on the cover of the game. But there’s not only new badges in the game, there’s also a totally new system.
Instead of unlocking badge levels and keeping them, your badge levels can drop over time. This happens when you stop doing what the badge benefits. For example, if you have the Limitless Range badge and stop shooting threes from way outside, then the badge level will regress. If you have Rebound Chaser but stop going for rebounds, then that badge level will regress.
So whichever badges you care about the most, you’ll have to make sure you keep performing the skills necessary to keep those badges afloat. However, there is a way to keep certain badges from regressing and it’s through an item called Floor Setters.
Floor Setters allow you to keep a badge of your choice from dropping below a certain level. There are silver and gold Floor Setters you can earn. You can earn one of each per season, and you can set one badge for the silver Floor Setter and one for the gold one each season. Once you set which badge you want for both Floor Setters, you can’t change this until you unlock the Floor Setters for the next season so choose your badges wisely.
You’ll also need to get your Season Level up to at least 21 to get the silver Floor Setter and 40 to get the gold one so you’ll need to do some grinding. Or, if you want, you can get them both right away by skipping levels by paying money (it’s $77 to skip from level 1 to level 40). You can also mix it up. Grind a little, spend a little because you can skip levels anytime you like.
So, although it’s only limited to one silver and one gold badge per Season, it’s still something. Really just think about the badges you care about the most and place the Floor Setters on them. And if there was another badge you wanted to include, you’ll get another opportunity in the next Season.
Another way you can kind of prevent your badges from dropping is by playing some NBA games in MyCareer. You’ll more than likely dominate these games (depending on your difficulty) and you take the time to perform specific moves related to your badges to help progress them and keep them afloat.
However, if you’re devoted to grinding in The City, then you’ll probably quickly get tired of playing the occasional NBA games. There is another way as well though and that’s through your workouts at the Gatorade Training Facility.
Here, you’ll be able to do certain workouts that can help give some of your badges a boost. It mostly depends on your build that determines which workouts improve your badges. Some workouts offer no badge boosts whatsoever. However, if you want to just get the stars you need for the extra turbo meter, you can skip a couple of badge-earning workouts.
But workouts are pretty essential in NBA 2K24 and they have been since they were introduced several years ago. So since you’ll be going to the Gatorade Facility each week anyway, might as well lift up your badges as well. And while you’re there, maybe get some shots in at the Gatorade Courts too (bring back the MyCourts, 2K).
The new badge system in NBA 2K24 has gotten mixed reviews so we’ll see if it sticks around for 2K25 or not. In the meantime, just keep grinding, earning your Floor Setters, and performing the moves needed to keep your badges up. Just be sure not to force things in City games and let everything come natural.
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.