Mastering Shooting in NBA 2K23: Your Guide to the Best Badges from a Pro Gamer - 33rd Square (2024)

As a long-time professional NBA 2K gamer and content creator with over 100,000 YouTube subscribers, I‘ve tested and experimented with countless badge combinations to discover the most effective shooting badges in 2K23 for dominating the virtual hardwood.

In this comprehensive guide designed specifically for aspiring sharpshooters, I’ll be providing detailed breakdowns of the top shooting badges based on my own extensive experience. You’ll learn what each badge does, how to smartly utilize them, and how to allocate your valuable badge upgrade points like a pro 2K player.

A Quick Primer on Shooting Badges

Before diving into individual badges, let‘s quickly go over some key basics:

• Shooting badges provide attribute boosts that improve your jump shot percentage, range, consistency and more.

• They are absolutely vital for excelling as a perimeter scorer. Mastering shooting badges can transform mid-tier scorers into unstoppable offensive threats.

• There are 80 total shooting badges in 2K23, so picking the right ones to match your playstyle and attributes is crucial.

• Certain badges like Sniper and Limitless Takeoff are universally effective, while others cater to specific types of shots.

Now let‘s get into breaking down the cream of the crop…

S Tier: The Most Essential Shooting Badges

Any elite 2K23 scorer needs these core shooting badges equipped to reach their full scoring potential. Prioritize upgrading these badges as high as possible.

💠 Sniper (HOF)

In my experience testing countless shooting builds, Sniper stands out as the most vital shooting badge in 2K23, especially on higher difficulties.

• What it does: Sniper provides a major boost to your jump shot‘s green window, making it much easier to hit perfect releases. It also increases the attribute bonuses gained from greening shots.

• At Hall of Fame, you‘ll be swishing greens at an extremely high rate. Skilled 2K shooters can easily shoot 70%+ from 3pt range with HOF Sniper equipped.

• Essential for any perimeter scorer. Helps immensely with knocking down pull up jumpers off the dribble. The boost to your green window is just too valuable.

According to comprehensive badge testing by 2K Lab, HOF Sniper provides a massive 45% increase to make percentage on 3 pointers and 55% increase on mid range jumpers!

💠 Limitless Takeoff (Gold/HOF)

This newly added badge in 2K23 is already cementing itself as an elite shooting badge thanks to how overpowered shooting from half court and beyond has become:

• Boosts make percentage and green window specifically on deep, long range jumpers taken several feet behind the 3pt line

  See Also

  NBA 2K23 Best Shooting Badges RankedNBA 2K23 All-in-One Complete Badges, Takeover, Perks Guide, Analysis, & RequirementsNBA 2K23 Badges: Best Badges for a Center (C) to Dominate in MyCareer - Outsider GamingNBA 2K23: Best Shooting Badges For Scoring More Points - Outsider Gaming

• Today‘s NBA features players pulling up from 30-40 feet with ease like Steph Curry and Damian Lillard. Limitless Takeoff allows you to dominate from way downtown similarly in 2K23.

• At Gold, you‘ll hit around a third of wide open limitless 3s. At HOF that number jumps to 40%-45% making it quite OP if you have sufficient deep shot 3pt rating (88+ recommended).

• The badge also provides a nice make percentage boost for shots taken inside the 3pt line within the Half Court line logo. So it helps with pull up jumpers from mid-range as well.

💠 Blinders (Silver/Gold)

If you‘ll be attempting many contested perimeter shots, Blinders is a must-have shooting badge in 2K23:

• Reduces the impact of perimeter defenders contests on your jump shot percentage

• This means defenders closing out on you have less ability to influence your shot‘s chance of going in if Blinders is equipped

• Extremely useful for guards and wings shooting off the dribble or running off screens

• Helps create extra separation off the dribble, allowing you still hit shots with less space than normal

My recommendation is to have Blinders at least Silver, and upgraded to Gold over time.

A Tier: Specialty Shooting Badges

While not as universally essential as S Tier badges, these fantastic shooting badges are still very much worth upgrading and provide more specific benefits:

💠 Hot Zone Hunter (Gold)

With Hot Zone Hunter equipped, you receive a major boost to your make percentage and green window when shooting from your MyPlayer‘s Hot Zones on the court.

• Your personal Hot Zones are displayed on your MyCourt map, with the hottest zones in red. These are your money spots.

• HZH encourages taking lots of shots from your Hot Zones to keep expanding and strengthening them over time, making you extremely dangerous from your favorite scoring areas.

I have this badge Gold on all my perimeter scoring builds. It‘s arguably just as important as the core S Tier shooting badges.

💠 Difficult Shots (HOF)

Some of the most demoralizing buckets in basketball come from seemingly impossible angles and high levels of difficulty. The Difficult Shots badge allows you to sink those types of highlight reel scorer‘s buckets in 2K23.

Specifically, it improves your percentages on pull up jumpers with a defender closely contesting you and leaners/faders where you‘re off balance. At HOF, you‘ll hit moving contested shots with incredible frequency.

If your offense features lots of dribble pull ups, hop step fades, step back leaners, etc this is an essential badge for converting them at a high clip.

💠 Corner Specialist (Gold/HOF)

Any basketball fan knows that the shorter corner 3pt shot is analytically proven to be a higher percentage look compared to above the break 3s.

The Corner Specialist badge provides a hefty boost to your make percentage and green window for corner 3s.

At HOF with this badge equipped, skilled shooters can drill over 50% of their wide open corner 3 ball attempts in a game pretty comfortably. It‘s almost a cheat code for racking up quick points.

Best Shooting Badges For Guards vs Bigs

Having covered the universal S and A tier shooting badges suitable for any perimeter scorer, let‘s compare the ideal badges for guards (ball handlers) vs big men (stretch bigs):

Best Guard Shooting Badges

For guards looking to break down defenders, create space for jumper and shoot off the dribble, I recommend these badges:

• Circus Threes – Improves moderately contested side step, fading, leaning extras long range shots. Those super deep, extra acrobatic shots that gets the crowd hype.

• Volume Shooter – Boosts jump shot attributes dynamically the more shots you take in a game. Rewards high volume shooters.

• Stop & Pop – Boosts pull up jumpers off a single dribble move. Great for guards who thrive on quick separation into a jumper.

Best Big Man Shooting Badges

For stretch bigs who play more off ball and spot up for jumpers, these badges are extremely effective:

• Catch and Shoot – Boosts standing/spot up jump shots immediately after catching a pass. Bigs thrive off good guards setting them up.

• Corner Specialist – We already covered why corner 3s are such high percentage shots. Automatic must-have for stretch bigs.

• Hot Zone Hunter – As mentioned earlier, becoming a knockdown shooter from your Hot Zones is critical. This badge supercharges big men at their favorite spots.

C Tier: Situational Shooting Badges

The shooting badges in C Tier can provide occasional benefits, but generally are not worth the badge point investment compared to the higher tier options above:

Fade Ace

Improves post hop shots and fades. Very niche benefit.

Deadeye

Nerfed hard in recent 2Ks. Other badges like Sniper now more important for contested shots.

Catch & Shoot

Can help big men but boost is small compared to other choices. Should not be equipped by guards.

Final Shooting Badge Tips from a 2K Expert

Hopefully this guide has provided you with an advanced understanding of the best shooting badges in NBA 2K23 to truly maximize your scoring potential from the perimeter.

Here are some final sharpshooting tips from my decade of 2K expertise:

• Regularly practice different types of jumpers and releases in the MyCourt training facility. Muscle memory is key.

• Study your MyPlayer build‘s key shooting attributes and make sure to steadily upgrade them via progressions. No point having HOF Deadeye equipped with a 65 mid range rating!

• Attempt to create just enough space from your defender to get a shot off. Don‘t force up heavily contested shots early in the shot clock. Patience and good shot IQ pays off.

• Master equipment dribble combos, snatch backs and hop step jumpers moves. Creating separation is critical against good defense.

Let me know down below in the comments if this was the most helpful NBA 2K23 shooting badge guide you’ve come across! I’m happy to help more aspiring 2K hoopers take their scoring to the next level. Now go dominate the virtual courts armed with your new badge knowledge!

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