NBA 2K22: Best Defensive Badges to Boost Your Game

Contents

1 What are the best defensive badges in 2K22?
2 1. Clamps
3 2. Intimidator
4 3. Pick Dodger
5 4. Tireless Defender
6 5. Clutch Defender
7 6. Rebound Chaser
8 7. Worm
9 8. Rim Protector

There are going to be times in your 2K22 gameplay when you are simply trading baskets with your opponent. These periods can make or break you when you get to the business end of a game.

It is through good defense that you will be able to not only take care of the lead that you have built, but also pull away from your opponent on the scoreboard.

Defensive stoppers are also the X-factors in winning championships, and you’ll definitely feel their importance once your focus turns to the post-season.

What are the best defensive badges in 2K22?

There aren’t too many new defensive badges in NBA 2K22, and we’re sticking with the originals here – badges which have gotten the job done throughout the previous generations.

Even the top NBA players know how to play defense and you need to create your player in the same mold. While the most defensive-minded players tend to be one-trick ponies, we’re going to make things a little more well-rounded for you.

With that in mind, these are what we think are the best defensive badges on NBA 2K22.

1. Clamps

Almost all of the good defensive players in NBA 2K22 have the Clamps badge. That’s because Clamps is the animation that you need to glue yourself onto your defensive assignment.

This badge is more of a one-tricker, though, and you need to combine it with other badges. For this one, make sure that you bring it up to Hall of Fame level for it to be enough to truly pester the ball handler.

2. Intimidator

The Intimidator badge combined with the Clamps is the worst nightmare of all iso players. Even playmakers are bothered if these two badges are activated together on the defensive end.

Make your opponent force shots instead of creating them with a Gold or Hall of Fame Intimidator badge and the perimeter is yours!

3. Pick Dodger

It can be pretty frustrating when you are such a good defender and an opponent is able to rely so heavily on a teammate’s screen. You can solve that problem yourself with the Pick Dodger badge.

A Gold Pick Dodger badge is good enough to make sure that you won’t be frustrated by your perfect defense being neutered by screens.

4. Tireless Defender

Defending is more draining even than running a fast break every play, and you will be pounding that turbo button a lot while you’re chasing the ball handler around. The Tireless Defender badge can help keep your defender engaged for longer.

For maximum performance, you’ll want to take things to the max on this end as well with a Hall of Fame badge.

5. Clutch Defender

Jrue Holiday’s defensive performance against Devin Booker in the latter part of the 2021 NBA Finals is one of the reasons that the Milwaukee Bucks won the championship.

Crunch time happens in games and you need to be prepared to force a stop when the game is on the line. Holiday’s Clutch Defender badge is Bronze, but you’d be best off making yours at least a Silver.

6. Rebound Chaser

Want an advantage over your opponents in second chance points? A Rebound Chaser badge will take care of that, both on offense and defense.

The Rebound Chaser badge is what you need the most when you play Blacktop or in the park on 2KOnline. You do, however, need to have at least a Gold badge here to succeed.

7. Worm

The perfect complement to the Rebound Chaser is the Worm badge. With this badge, it’s more effective to swim through bodies for those boards rather than box them out, since it relies more on brains than brawn.

Since you’re likely going to pair this with the Rebound Chaser, you might as well make this badge a Gold one too!

8. Rim Protector

As much as the Giant Slayer badge animations help the slashers, everyone seems like giant slayers in NBA 2K. With that in mind, you might as well have the counter animation with you.

Even if you aren’t a big man, you might need the Rim Protector badge to prevent those Smurf shots that your opponents will make, so it’s safe to say that you need this up at a Hall of Fame level.

What to expect when using defensive badges in NBA 2K22

You may have noticed that we didn’t include many stealing badges in this list. That’s because the 2K meta isn’t particularly friendly on steals.

You can put Matisse Thybulle on a big man with the lowest ball handling attributes and still get called for a reach-in foul. It can be frustrating if you build a perimeter defender and can’t even manage a steal.

With the badges mentioned above, however, it is highly likely that you will be able to catch the ball handler off-balance, forcing an inevitable steal in the process. It also works the same way once the defensive line gets in the shaded area.

These badges are applicable for all positions, so regardless of what type of player you create, these are the badges that will have you covered.

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