Top Ten Tuesday: Best NBA 2K19 Builds And Archetypes

Many have been playing the early release of the 20th Anniversary Edition, but NBA 2K19 is officially out today for everyone. Every game mode is deep because NBA 2K is always such a great game, but the most popular game modes involve MyPLAYER and MyCAREER. There are dozens of archetypes to choose from when creating your player in NBA 2K19, and these are the best archetypes to go with.

 

For each build, there will be a rough comparison to give a better idea of the type of player that can be built. You can also check out the guide for max attributes at each position here.

 

10. SF | Primary: 3-point Shooting | Secondary: 3-point Shooting

Sometimes, you just need a knock-down shooter on the outside, and doubling-up on the three-point build helps make that happen. A pure sharp small forward can get the three-point shot maxed out, along with badges like Deadeye and Corner Specialist. The height for most small forwards will help get the shot off over defenders closing out.

 

Comparison: Larry Bird (offensively, without rebounding)

 

9. PG | Primary: 3-point shooting | Secondary: 3-point shooting

The second build is also a pure sharpshooter, but it’s at the point guard position. Shooting attributes can get to limitless, knock-down levels, and there’s enough passing attributes to set up teammates. Ideally, a pure sharp point guard would bring the ball up but quickly dish to teammates before navigating the top of the arc to get open for threes.

 

Comparison: Stephen Curry (with less quickness)

 

8. C | Primary: Driving & Finishing | Secondary: Rebounding

If you plan on running an up-tempo offense where the team gets the rebound and gets out on fastbreaks, this is the perfect build for a center. It’s a good mix of ball-handling and strength for secondary attributes, but the focus is on rebounding, speed, and explosiveness to start and finish fastbreaks. The secondary archetype as Rebounding, paired with the elite vertical, allows for put-backs on the offensive end.

 

Comparison: DeAndre Jordan (with more handles)

 

7. PF | Primary: 3-point Shooting | Secondary: Driving & Finishing

For someone that wants to be a stand-in-the-corner knock-down shooter, a three-point driving power forward might be the way to go. Having 3-point Shooting as the primary archetype allows the player to get badges like corner specialist, and Driving & Finishing as the secondary archetype makes it difficult for defenders to just fly out to the corner.

 

Comparison: Kevin Love (with more athleticism and less mid-range)

 

6. SF | Primary: Driving & Finishing | Secondary: Passing & Ball-handling

The two cover stars for NBA 2K19 are LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and this build is probably the one that most closely resembles the two of them. Speed, acceleration, vertical, layups, an dunks are all at near-elite levels, and the passing and ball-handling attributes are very good. The lack of outside shooting is the only downside, but this build should be used to run the offense like James and Antetokounmpo do.

 

Comparison: LeBron James (lite version)

 

5. SF | Primary: Defending | Secondary: Defending

I know not a lot of people are going to want to choose a lockdown defender for a MyPLAYER build, but it might be necessary to anchor for some teams to shut down near-unstoppable players. Ideally, the pure defensive small forward will have the versatility to defend multiple positions. A defending-defending build would need to be smart and pick spots on offense. Athleticism is all elite for this build, so it should be solid for fastbreaking and cutting.

 

Comparison: Kawhi Leonard (sans offense)

 

4. PG | Primary: Passing & Ball-handling | Secondary: Passing & Ball-handling

If there are a lot of offensive weapons and shooters around on a team, a pure playmaker build at point guard can be lethal. Passing, ball-handling, speed, and acceleration can all be nearly maxed out, which allows for the point guard to be a true court general that finds the open spot for himself and his teammates. Mid-range and three-point ratings also get to adequate levels to hit open shots.

 

Comparison: Rajon Rondo (with less defense)

 

3. SG | Primary: Shot Creating | Secondary: Driving & Finishing

The most balanced build in NBA 2K19might be this, as a shot-creating finisher at shooting guard can get solid-to-excellent at all attributes. Speed, acceleration, vertical, and dunks are among the best attributes for the build, which allows you to drive the lane and get buckets at the basket (with the ability to put people on a poster); and midrange can get more than high enough to knock down anything inside the arc. It’s hard to stop someone that masters this build.

 

Comparison: Kobe Bryant (with less athleticism and defense)

 

2. SF | Primary: 3-point Shooting | Secondary: Shot Creating

One of the best headline-scorer builds in NBA 2K19 is a small forward with the combination of 3-point Shooting as the primary archetype and Shot Creating as the secondary archetype. Both spotting up and shooting off the dribble—from anywhere on the court in both cases—can be nearly-unstoppable with the build. The only downside is you can’t really drive the lane and dunk on people.

 

Comparison: Kevin Durant (with less driving ability and defense)

 

1. SG | Primary: Shot Creating | Secondary: 3-point Shooting

For an all-around offensive game at guard, a combination of Shot Creating and 3-point Shooting is tough to top. Shot Creating as the primary archetype allows for good speed, quickness, and acceleration ratings, while 3-point Shooting helps those abilities to get put to use anywhere on the court on offense. Also, layups and dunks can get high enough that it makes it tough to be defended closely on the outside. If you want to get buckets whenever you want, this is probably the build to use.

 

Comparison: James Harden (with less playmaking ability)