Finishing at the basket is an integral part of basketball, and it’s no different in the virtual world of NBA 2K23. In this video, Kevin Cruz will discuss the secrets to becoming a successful finisher at the basket without relying too heavily on powerful dunk animations. He’ll give tips on how to trap your defender, why layups are more powerful than you think, the different types of layups you should use in various situations, and how to finish at the basket efficiently.
Tip 1: Layup Timing
Consider turning on layup timing to be able to nail tightly contested layups. Hold the right stick up to initiate a normal layup, and hold it up left or upright to finish with either hand. This is also a great way to activate the powerful bully layup if you have a player with a bully badge.
Tip 2: Scoop Layups
Use badges like Fearless Finisher to finish at the basket without activating the bully badge. New to NBA 2K23 is quick-to-scoop layups, which are done by holding the right stick left or right to finish with a quick scoop layup.
Tip 3: Floaters
Use a quick scoop layup to get the ball away from your defender and even avoid the help defense coming at you. If you use the inside hand to activate a quick scoop layup, you can activate an underhand scoop layup, which quickly avoids the defensive block.
Tip 4: Euro Step Layups
Also, try playing around in a post-up situation, and you can activate a scoop layup out of an open under. Holding the left stick towards the basket and pulling the right stick down can initiate a floater. This is a great way to avoid help defenses, especially against aggressive shot blockers.
Tip 5: Cradle Layups
With the ball in your left hand, quickly tapping the right stick from left to right will execute a euro-step layup. This is a great way to avoid incoming help defenses and break away from your defender.
Tip 6: Create Layups
With the ball in your left hand, quickly tapping the right stick from right to left will execute a cradle layup. This layup changes when you’re stuck in a contact animation, as it will execute a nice little push-off to get you to finish at the basket.
Tip 7: Spin Layups
You can also use your defender’s momentum against them as they’re moving in one direction, spin away from them and finish at the basket with a hop gather. Tap square and hold the elastic to the left or right or double tap the right stick left or right to perform a hop gather.
Tip 8: Hop Gathers
Use create the layups to finish around your defender if you get the first step away from your defender. This is a great way to set traps for your defender as they think they have you, but you’re dictating the action and can finish at the basket at will.
Tip 9: Spin Layup
Rotate the red stick to perform a spin layup. Releasing the right stick will result in a quick gathering. You can also double-tap square while holding the left stick towards the basket as an additional way to execute spin layups.
Tip 10: Reverse Layups
You can also combo the hop gathers with your different sets of floaters or even initiate a hop gather jump stop into a nice fadeaway jumper.
Tip 11: Avoid shot blockers
As you approach the baseline, keep the red stick away from the basket while you drive. To do a reverse layup, if you’re on the right side, hold the right stick to the left when you start the layup. This technique can help you avoid shot blockers because they won’t be able to get to you if they’re below the rim.
Tip 12: Combos
You can also combo out of layup gatherers with dunks. For example, if you have Giannis, you have a nice signature euro-step dunk animation, or you can even do a hop step-to-dunk animation or a cradle layup-to-dunk combo. This works well as you use the different properties of layups to break out of contact animations and then finish at the basket with a dunk to avoid getting blocked.
Conclusion:
With these tips, you can become an unstoppable finisher at the basket in NBA 2K23. Remember to practice with your layup timing, buff up your badges and attributes for finishing at the basket, and use the different layups to finish at the basket with a little bit of sauce.
