Defensive Tips for NBA 2K23

Defending in NBA 2K23 is now becoming an essential and more demanding task because a solid defense can stop the opposing team from scoring too many goals or from scoring any goal at all. This guide will provide you with all the defensive tips in NBA 2K23.

1. Become the shadow of your opponent

When the defense starts, every player will have one opponent assigned to them, and they have to cover that player for the rest of the round, so make sure you stick close to them and don't give them an opening for passing and keep narrowing the circle around them. As you start following a player and observing him closely, he will become nervous and make some mistakes you can take advantage of.

2. Beef up your defensive stats

If you're a guard or wing, max out the perimeter defense, lateral quickness, and steal. If you're big, max out rebounding, interior defense, and block.

3. Pick the right badges

Picking the right badges is instrumental for playing better defense, as they are meant to help your manual defensive inputs.

4. Defensive controls

If you're having trouble playing defense in NBA 2K23, these controls can help you become a lockdown defender.

• Intentional Foul
• Double Team
• Icon Double Team
• Team Intentional Foul
• Defensive Pressure Adjustments
• Call 2-3 Zone
• Call 3-2 Zone
• Call Man to Man

The advanced defense controls are challenging to learn and will require some effort. Calling zones is perhaps the most confusing feature for beginner players, but it may be the difference between winning and losing when done correctly.

5. Learn the passing lanes

The passing lanes are simply where your opponent passes the ball. When playing off-ball defense, you want to close off the areas where your opponent may pass the ball so you can get easy steals. This is only learned by playing the game.

6. On-ball defense

The key to on-ball defense is predicting your opponents' moves. You won't always guess correctly, but over time you'll get better, start getting bumpy on the ball handler, and get the stops you need on the defensive end.

7. Force turnovers

Turnovers are an essential part of defense strategy. If you can force your opponent players to make turnovers, it'll benefit your team, and the opponent team will lose the opportunity to score. To do so, you can simply catch the ball halfway. To do that, you can time your reach for the ball button with the exact time the ball leaves the hand of the opponent.

8. Stay at an arm's length

Because you will be covering a single opponent throughout the defense, you have to keep the optimum distance between you and the other player.  If you stay away from your opponent, they may slip out of your eyes and score a basket. The optimum distance is at arm's length. An arm's length means that you are close enough to be able to catch the ball in between passes but not so close that you will constantly crash into each other.

9. Substitute Tired Players

Players become tired and substituting them after halftime helps maintain the strength and power of your team, which ultimately improves your defense. So, keep a look out for the players and substitute them timely.

10. Get back on the fast break

Speaking of fast breaks, don't lollygag on the turn of possession. If your teammate misses a shot and you can't get the rebound, start running down to the other end of the court. And when you make the shot, don't sit around celebrating when the point guard is about to take the ball right back in the other direction.

11. Rebounding for Big Men

You'll need the Rebound Chaser and Boxout Beast badge, and the most important tips to rebounding are to box out your opponent, guess where the ball will land, and correctly time your jump for the board.

These are all the defensive tips you can use in NBA 2K23. However, you can visit here if you are looking for guides to get some help regarding defense tips or how to buy 2K23 MT.