NBA 2K23 Player-Lock Thread

[HeatLifer]

Player-Lock Is A Gold Mine Straight Out Of The Box.


I'm not an extremist and I don't rush to overexaggerate - but never has there been a 2K game that IMMEDIATELY opening the box you set your controller settings to Player-Lock... and your teammates ACTUALLY run the offense to the star CPU players on your team all... the... time (and the CPU star teammate ACTUALLY EXECUTE) like they do in 2K23!

Typically even after a complete roster overhaul if you Player-Lock you still have to adjust the playbook, the tendencies, etc. etc. etc. just to get the team to run the offense through correctly and even then they might only have 13 shot attempts for the whole game (I remember I was going up against MJ in the playoffs in 2k22, I set EVERY play in their playbook to end with the SG getting the shot. Mid-range, High post, Low post, everything... MJ finished the game with 12 shots while Scottie Pippen had 35 points on 22 shots lmao infuriating to say the least).

THIS YEAR - I player-locked Dwyane Wade while having Allen Iverson & Hakeem The Dream on my team just to see if the team would run offense through at least ONE of them.

I had 26 as Wade... Hakeem finished with 30 points and 14 rebs.... Iverson finished with 38 LMAO. AI3 was in COMPLETE gtfo of my way mode and every time Hakeem touched the ball (13/18 shots) we wasn't giving it up. No wasted touches from him. Everyone else on our team was looked at as a role player - if you're open you get the shot, if not, it's going to Iverson, Hakeem, or Wade.

We played against the 2004 Lakers (wanted to see how Kobe played and watch Hakeem vs. Shaq) and Shaq wasn't backing down from Hakeem at all, 35/15 absolutely matching jam for jam, rebound for rebound.


Kobe was the same Kobe of that year.... refusing to go down, put up a whopping 43 points. 3 after 3, jumper after jumper, pump-fake post-up, off the glass bank shots. In the final 4 minutes of the game though.... Kobe went COMPLETELY AWAY from Shaq lmao like literally watching the 2004 Finals against Detroit, Kobe was trying to save the day (not quite enough though, he missed the game tying shot with 20 seconds left and it was all free throws for us after that).

The CPU teammate A.I. is ABSURDLY geared towards running plays to get the best players on the court the ball... and it's absolutely engaging to watch.

I got caught napping so hard (Player-Locking LeBron) just watching Carmelo Anthony dancing up and breaking down Larry Hughes that JR Smith ran unguarded behind me up for an open pass in the wide open paint for an easy jam - I paused the game and let out a GIANT "WOWWW" because I was caught completely ball-watching Melo lmao.

I've played almost 10 games like these so far where the stars are stars, even on YOUR team when you AREN'T controlling them without having to constantly run plays for them or force feed them the ball or even forcing them to shoot... and it's absolutely incredible to feel like if you're fortunate enough to get an All-Star on your team in a franchise mode... it WILL make a difference.... FINALLY.

What's your experience been like? Who are you player-locking and what are you trying to get accomplished?

Win Iverson a ring as a teammate? Drop "X" player into 1980s to help get Jordan over the hump against the stacked Celtics? Playing as rookie Magic and watching Kareem absolutely run roughshod over the 80s? Playing MyCareer and your star teammate is dominating and helping you get to the playoffs?? Let us know!

[mysticsmoke]

While I don't play player-lock, I play position-lock and have noticed stars playing more like stars this year. It's been quite nice. I play the Bulls locked as the point guard, and Lavine, my two is a beast. DeRozan is dropping dimes like crazy but doesn't dominate the game. He shoots primarily mid-range shots but a lot of passing on the inside to Vucevic and my other bigs. It's been lots of fun. They need to do something about jump shots, though. My teammates drain theirs while I can build a city with all the bricks I put up. If I want to score, I'm reduced to getting inside or drawing the foul.

[BaselineBakes]

Completely agree with your assessment. Your teammates can be completely trusted to run an offense and create good shots. I’ve been perfectly content to just dribble the ball up, initiate the offense, and then go chill in the corner.

Every year I create a PG and then player lock. This year I threw my guy on the 2002 Timberwolves with KG, who is an absolute monster. He’s good for a 20+ point, 15+ rebound game each game and this is on 8 minute quarters. Some of the moves I watch him pull out are outstanding.

The same can be said for my opposition, if the other team has a star, they are relentless. It’s beautiful to see and I couldn’t be happier with this mode so far. Loving it.


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[FixEverything2k]

Does it play like this in MyEras/MyNBA or is it just play now where it’s like this?

[BaselineBakes]

Quote: Originally Posted by FixEverything2k

Does it play like this in MyEras/MyNBA or is it just play now where it’s like this?

MyEras/MyNBA for me, haven’t played it extensively outside of that mode.


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[MikeBadge]

This is great to hear!

Started experimenting with player lock in Play Now yesterday and it felt really good. Really excited to mess around with it in MyNBA Eras. So many possibilities to try out.

[MikeBadge]

Quote: Originally Posted by BaselineBakes

Every year I create a PG and then player lock. This year I threw my guy on the 2002 Timberwolves with KG, who is an absolute monster. He’s good for a 20+ point, 15+ rebound game each game and this is on 8 minute quarters. Some of the moves I watch him pull out are outstanding.

This is going to age me, but my 1st player lock season/franchise experience was on either on 2K2 or 2K4 running point on KG's Wolves. Kinda wild that scenario can be replicated almost 20 years later.

[BaselineBakes]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeBadge

This is going to age me, but my 1st player lock season/franchise experience was on either on 2K2 or 2K4 running point on KG's Wolves. Kinda wild that scenario can be replicated almost 20 years later.

Ha I’ve been player locking since AI was on the cover [emoji102]


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