NBA 2K16 Gameplay Blog With Da_Czar

First of all, say you picked the 50 plays you wanted. Theoretically, the easiest way to get them all in, (and in the order you so desire), would write them down (or type, I'll just use write) in order from most preferred to least, with the play type order being Iso, PNR, Low Post, High Post, Cutter, Mid Range & finaly 3pt.

With them written down in your preferred order, you would then (again, theoretically) go into your PB, completely empty it (well, save for one play, as it won't let you COMPLETELY empty it), and then start adding your plays in reverse order (obviously your first move replacing the last play left in the book). So you'd start from the very bottom (with the least preferred play in 3pt, and work your way all the way up, ending with the most preferred Iso play).

Now, I've said "theoretically" twice, because while this process would be ideal (though admittedly a bit time consuming), it doesn't work in 2K15, because if you completely empty a PB, when you go to re-add plays, it stops at random numbers for teams (I.E., it doesn't let you fill it back to 50. It could be 46 or 47, whatever. We'll use 47 for this example). Once you hit 47, then when you go to add your 48th play, it will instead randomly replace one of the previous 47 plays you already added. Now, it IS possible to get to 50 using this route, but it's a pain because you have to add a play, then chase the replaced play around (figure out which play #48 replaced, put it back in, re-add #48, if it replaces another play, find out which play was replaced, put it back in, re-add #48, and you get the idea). Eventually the playbook will get back to 50, but it takes way too much effort for something that should be relatively simple.

Now, the way that I always got my book to it's full 50 (told you I was gonna ramble. Again, sorry), is starting with a default PB (again, we'll use the 47 play example, though I can't remember if any default PBs had that many). With a default PB, add another 3 plays to get to 50. This works, no issue. Then, what I would do is go through and replace every single play with an Isolation play (reason being it's gonna be the last added, and also, outside of Cutter, the play type that should have the least amount of plays in your PB). You should now have a playbook with 50 Isolation plays in it.

Now just scroll all the way down, and start adding your plays as detailed above (starting with last 3pt, ending with first Iso). No big deal right, everything's done you say. Well, no, not quite. It all goes back to your initial problem: having the plays in the order you want. While you added them in your preferred order, they aren't necessarily in that order. It's almost as if (and this could admittedly get confusing, AND, I don't even know if this is the case, as I never actively tested this theory) when adding plays on top of plays (like going through and replacing every play with an Iso), the replacement play (Iso) acted as a type of placeholder.

So say you replaced 3pt 6 (last play in default PB) with Iso 1 (first Iso play added via replacement). Wherever 3pt 6 appeared in the play calling screen, whichever 3pt play you add in it's place will appear in the same place. However, if you add, say a PNR play, over an Iso play that replaced a 3pt play, then that PNR play will go to the front of the PNR line. Yes, confusing, and really unnecessary.

So what do you do? Well, here's where it gets really time consuming. You've already written down your preferred order of plays right? Well, after replacing all plays in your PB, and adding those 50 plays, now it's time to head over to the Assign Play screen so you can see the actual order the plays are in in-game. What I would do (and there is no 'Right' way to do this, you do it how you wish), is first, clear all play types from any single player, then, starting give them one play type at a time, and in each play type, write down the play order on your already written down preferred order. So on one side (left) you have your preferred order, and next to them (right) the actual order the plays are in. Then it's a game of add and switch.

You find the first play (on the right) that doesnt match up with the left column, and replace it with a random play from the same play type (important). What I found was that the very first play in each play type worked fine, as it was rarely a play that was actually used. Then you take the play you just replaced, and put it in it's proper place (by finding it on the left column, and replacing the play that's next to it in the right column), then you take that newly replaced play and put it in IT'S proper place, and on and on (at the same time, I would erase/cross out/delete each play from the right column as it is properly placed, thus keeping track of my progress). Eventually you will work your way back to the random play, though if there's alot of plays in your play type (PNR for instance), you will often have to add that random play a couple of times, as you will get back around to it without getting everything in it's correct order the first time around.

Eventually, you will move through each play type and your right column will be cleared out, and you now have a fully stocked PB with the plays in each type in your preferred order. It's still not perfect, as each play type is grouped in the play call screen, so you can't really put the plays in any order you like, but you this will atleast give you some organization.