While it might sound controversial, the best shot in the NBA is the one close to the rim. By percentage and points, that's the one that coaches are trying to get. True to its real-life inspiration, finishing shots in NBA 2K24 are the most preferred shots in the game due to their reliability.
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If dunks and layups aren't as reliable as they should be, the odds are good that the fault is on the badges or, more accurately, the lack of badges. NBA 2K24 rewards slashers and big men who take the ball to the hoop so long as they've invested the right badges.
Best Dunking & Layups Badges
Badge | Benefit | Bronze Requirement | Silver Requirement | Gold Requirement | Hall of Fame Requirement |
Backdown Punisher | Allows players to have more success than normal when backing down a defender while posting up. | 57 Post Control and 70 Strength | 67 Post Control and 79 Strength | 79 Post Control and 86 Strength | 89 Post Control and 95 Strength |
Posterizer | Increases the chance of throwing down a dunk on the defender. | 73 Driving Dunk and 70 Vertical | 76 Driving Dunk and 75 Vertical | 93 Driving Dunk and 80 Vertical | 99 Driving Dunk and 85 Vertical |
Fearless Finisher | Strengthens a player's ability to absorb contact and still finish. Also reduces the amount of energy lost from contact layups. | 55 Strength and 68 Close Shot or 70 Driving Layup | 60 Strength and 77 Close Shot or 80 Driving Layup | 65 Strength and 86 Close Shot or 87 Driving Layup | 67 Strength and 95 Close Shot or 96 Driving Layup |
Giant Slayer | Boosts the shot percentage for a layup attempt when mismatches against a taller defender and reduces the possibility of getting blocked. | 55 Close Shot or 59 Driving Layup | 62 Close Shot or 65 Driving Layup | 75 Close Shot or 74 Driving Layup | 88 Close Shot or 85 Driving Layup |
Fast Twitch | Speeds up the ability to get standing layups or dunks off before the defense has time to contest. | 71 Close Shot or 73 Standing Dunk | 81 Close Shot or 83 Standing Dunk | 90 Close Shot or 92 Standing Dunk | 98 Close Shot or 99 Standing Dunk |
Masher | Improves a player's ability to finish well around the rim, especially over smaller defenders. | 68 Close Shot | 77 Close Shot | 84 Close Shot | 94 Close Shot |
Hook Specialist | Improves a player's ability to make post hooks. | 60 Close Shot and 50 Post Control | 71 Close Shot and 62 Post Control | 83 Close Shot and 74 Post Control | 92 Close Shot and 86 Post Control |
Slithery | Increases a player's ability to slide through traffic, protect the ball from being stolen, and avoid contact during gathers and finishes at the rim. | 68 Driving Layup or 70 Driving Dunk | 80 Driving Layup or 82 Driving Dunk | 91 Driving Layup or 93 Driving Dunk | 97 Driving Layup or 94 Driving Dunk |
Acrobat | Reverse and change shot layup attempts receive a boost. Additionally, the ability to beat defenders with gathers is improved. | 64 Driving Layup | 76 Driving Layup | 84 Driving Layup | 90 Driving Layup |
Aerial Wizard | Increases the ability to finish an alley-oop from a teammate or a putback finish off an offensive rebound. | 58 Vertical and 57 Driving Layup or 64 Driving Dunk or 60 Standing Dunk | 67 Vertical and 69 Driving Layup or 75 Driving Dunk or 72 Standing Dunk | 72 Vertical and 78 Driving Layup or 84 Driving Dunk or 84 Standing Dunk | 84 Vertical and 87 Driving Layup or 95 Driving Dunk or 92 Standing Dunk |
Bunny | Improves a player's ability to make hop step layups or dunks. | 62 Driving Layup or 68 Driving Dunk | 72 Driving Layup or 77 Driving Dunk | 84 Driving Layup or 86 Driving Dunk | 94 Driving Layup or 93 Driving Dunk |
Scooper | Improves a player's ability to make quick scoop layups. | 61 Driving Layup | 68 Driving Layup | 76 Driving Layup | 84 Driving Layup |
Float Game | Improves a player's ability to make floaters. | 60 Driving Layup | 68 Driving Layup | 77 Driving Layup | 88 Driving Layup |
Spin Cycle | Improves a player's ability to make spin layups or dunks. | 55 Driving Layup or 56 Driving Dunk | 64 Driving Layup or 69 Driving Dunk | 70 Driving Layup or 75 Driving Dunk | 82 Driving Layup or 85 Driving Dunk |
Two Step | Improves a player's ability to make eurostep or cradle layups or dunks. | 60 Driving Layup or 63 Driving Dunk | 68 Driving Layup or 70 Driving Dunk | 74 Driving Layup or 78 Driving Dunk | 83 Driving Layup or 86 Driving Dunk |
Precision Dunker | Improves a player's ability to make skill dunks. | 71 Driving Dunk or 71 Standing Dunk | 83 Driving Dunk or 81 Standing Dunk | 90 Driving Dunk or 90 Standing Dunk | 97 Driving Dunk or 96 Standing Dunk |
Rise Up | Increases the likelihood of dunking or posterizing the opponent when standing in the painted area. | 72 Standing Sunk and 60 Vertical | 81 Standing Sunk and 63 Vertical | 90 Standing Sunk and 67 Vertical | 98 Standing Sunk and 70 Vertical |
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These are a ton of badges to keep track of but don't try and get all of them. Even the best dunker build focuses on a few specific aspects of finishing instead of trying to be good at layups and post hooks as well. On the flip side, big men in the post do not need to try and get all those driving dunk badges.
Also, be sure to use the best dunk animations. These motions will determine the timing of dunks and how easy they are to block. Without animations on par with the badges, finishers will be in trouble no matter how high their attribute points are.
NBA 2K24 is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.