How do I Know if This NBA 2K19 MyTeam Card is Worth it?

by Brian Mazique

If you love NBA 2K19’s MyTeam mode, chances are you’re into the dopamine effect you get from opening packs, accumulating MT, and all of the other bells and whistles equipped in the feature.

I get a bit of a rush from building lineups in this entirely unrealistic, but addictive mode. However, I also have come to realize that not every new Pink Diamond or Diamond card is worth the time, effort or money to pursue.

I’ve created a checklist that you can use to determine if the newly released card is worth pursuing.

Mind you, if you’re a completionist, you’re likely just obsessed with owning every card. You might also really like a player, so you feel compelled to hold the card as an expression of your fandom. However, if you’re only trying to generate the most effective lineup, take a look at the following checkpoints.

Size Matters

Bigger is better in NBA 2K19. If you have two players with similar overall ratings, but one is taller than the other, almost always go with the bigger guy.

Size is a passive strength in NBA 2K19. The bigger the player is, the easier it is for him to cover ground and get to advantageous areas on the virtual floor. The length is also useful on defense for blocked shots, deflections and shot contests.

Skills Over Positions

Don’t get too caught up in having a set amount of players at every position. Because MyTeam blurs the lines of realistic basketball, many players have jacked-up ratings that allow them to play above their real-life abilities.

If you’re looking for a point guard, look at the speed, speed with the ball, acceleration, perimeter defense, ball control, and three-point shooting ratings to judge said player’s fitness for the position. If you have a player who has at least an 80 rating in these categories, it doesn’t matter what position they play in real life. In MyTeam, they can probably play the point.

When it comes to badges, Ankle Breaker, Dimer, and Pick-and-Roll Maestro are the ones that you want. You’ll notice there are a lot of non-point guards with this collection of attributes and badges.

If you can stomach the lack of authenticity, your team will be better for it.

Badges Matter

I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it, the badges are a bigger deal than the ratings.

If you have a player who has the Limitless Range badge, as long as they have a three-point grade of 80 or above in each of three categories, they are a significant weapon and floor spacer. In turn, if the player you currently have in your lineup doesn’t have the LR badge, and the newest card does, it’s reason enough to make an upgrade.

The same goes for some of the other badges: Catch and Shoot, Deep-Range Deadeye, Posterizer, and Hustle Rebounder. Keep in mind, you can add badges to players, but I like to evaluate them as-is before exploring upgrade possibilities.

Key Attributes are Important

While badges are more important, it doesn’t mean the ratings don’t matter. You just need to know which ones are the most vital.

We already talked about the key ratings for guards. Contact Dunk is very important for small forwards and bigs. There are a lot of meetings at the rim in NBA 2K, and the higher the contact dunk rating, the better chance your player has to finish. This is also where the Posterizer badge comes in handy.

The strength rating is enormous for bigs. This will dictate whether you’ll have an advantage in low-post situations. If you have a big who can hold his ground, it means you don’t have to send help against a scorer on the block.

That can be the difference between your defense breaking down and giving up open threes, or getting stops.

But as always, if you don’t see a big enough gap between the ratings of the players in your current lineup and the new card you have your eye on, it’s probably not worth it to upgrade.