NBA 2K17 Badges Guide
Jackson Reed
Published Apr 13, 2026
NBA 2K17 Badges are special titles that give certain bonuses when you unlocked them. They can be earned by performing certain actions in the game a certain number of times. After you’ve unlocked them, most of them can be upgraded a couple of times. In this guide, we’re going to show you a list of all player badges in NBA 2K17, how to get them.
Before we list the badges, some general information. There are five tiers to the badges – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Hall of Fame, and Grand badges. Some of them can be upgraded to higher tiers, while some cannot. You can have up to 55 of them. when you start MyPlayer in NBA 2K17, you’ll start with several predetermined badges, depending on the choice you make. You can choose to either develop them further (if possible), or just disregard them and evolve your player however you want to. Without further ado, here are the badges and how to get them!
Personality Badges
These badges have only one level – they cannot be upgraded. They don’t influence the player’s skills, instead affecting his mood, animations, hot and cold streaks, etc. Here’s a full list:| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Alpha Dog Team leader, inspires teammates. | Be the highest rated player in 20 consecutive games |
| All Time Great Strives to be known as an all-time great. | Have considerably more field goal attempts than assists (from 4:1 to 8:1, depending on position) in 15 consecutive games. |
| Championship DNA Can quickly see where double teams are coming from. Steps up his game in playoff moments. | Win an NBA Championship |
| Clutch Performer Steps his game up when the time comes. | Shoot over 40% in the final minutes of a game. |
| Defensive Anchor Defensive leader who helps his teammates perform better defensively. | Get Defender up to lvl 18, play 30 or more games. |
| Enforcer Can wreak havoc on the floor with tough and physical play. | Get 10 hard fouls in a season. |
| Expressive Has no problem expressing his feelings. | Celebrate every time the prompt pops up. |
| Floor General An offensive leader who helps his teammates play better on offense. | Get Playmaker discipline to lvl 18, get a 5 assist average over 30 or more games. |
| Friendly An outgoing and typically well-liked player. | Choose positive answers in scenes where you get a choice. Be nice to people. |
| Hardened Will play through fatigue & injury without experiencing a severe drop in skill. | Have stamina and durability 90, get an average of 80% playtime over 20 consecutive games. |
| High Work Ethic Works harder than the typical NBA player. | You have to be the last one in practice. |
| Keep It Real Responds best to tough love. | It’s not important which mode you choose in MyGM/MyLeague. As soon as you advance, your players will randomly get Keep It Real badge. Thanks Lowkey OJ |
| Laid Back Generally pretty chill at all times. | During cut scenes, go with the answers that seem most relaxed and/or humble. |
| Legendary Work Ethic First one to the gym, last one to leave and the hardest worker at all times. | When you get the scene where they ask you to shoot some more before a game, accept the offer. |
| Low Ego Values team success more than anything. | Have only a little more field goal attempts than assists (less than 2:1 is ideal) in 15 consecutive games. |
| Mircowave A player who heats up more quickly than most. | Achieve hotness (2 red rings) in 10 consecutive games. |
| Pat My Back Responds best when patted on the back and coddled when spoken to. | After you get a scene with a motivational speech, try to improve your performance in the next five games. |
| Reserved A quiet player that generally keeps to himself. | In scenes where you get to choose your answer, go for the ones that make you seem uncertain. |
| Spark Plug Come off the bench making big plays that can energize his teammates. | Get an average of 7 points scored after coming off the bench in 6 consecutive games. |
| Unpredictable Can be erratic in his behavior. | Earn either the Laid Back or the Expressive badge first. Then, start giving answers with the opposite tone. |
| Wildcard A player who can be wildly inconsistent. | In MyCareer, try to be as inconsistent as possible with your players stats. Eventually, this should earn you the badge. |
Playmaking Badges
These badges can be earned by performing actions suitable for a playmaker. Once you’ve got one, you can upgrade it using Virtual Currency. Here’s a full list:| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Ankle Breaker Can cause his defender to stumble or fall with his dribble moves. | Dribble- assist-score! Use the right stick to do a dribble combo, follow by an assist. Only if you assist counts towards the badge! Repeat 200 times. |
| Break Starter Starts fast breaks with accurate outlet passes. | After a defensive rebound, perform and outlet pass 50 times. |
| Dimer An elite passer known for hitting teammates in the correct position to score. | Perform 300 assists in a season. |
| Flashy Passer Known for throwing on-point flashy passes to his receivers. | Perform 50 flashy passes in a season. |
| Lob City Passer Completes alley-oop passes at a high rate. | Perform 50 alley-oops in a season. |
| Pick & Roll Maestro Throws accurate passes and hits shots off screens at a high percentage while orchestrating a pick & roll. | Use pick & roll to call for 150 screens in a season. |
Defensive Badges
You can get any of these badges by playing defense. They’ll be bronze when you unlock them, but can be upgraded to silver, and later, gold.| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Charge Card Adept at placing himself in position to win charge calls. | Perform 7 charges in a season. |
| Chase Down Artist Terrific transition shot blocker. | Perform 7 chasedown blocks in a season. |
| Defensive Stopper While playing on-ball defense, this badge drops various offensive skills of similarly positioned match-ups. | The hardest to earn badge – Play some D! Get 150+ good shot contest on opponent’s shot, and Not this time! 25+ Stop the opposing team’s fastbreak all in one season. Set game difficulty on Rookie. |
| Pick Dodger A slithery player who can get around screens easily. | Run through a certain amount of screens. |
| Pick Pocket Known for his ability to strip the ball from a ball-handler. | Poke the ball from another player 50 times |
| Rim Protector An elite shot-blocker who intimidates those around the rim, causing interior shots to be less effective. | Perform 80 blocks in a season. |
Rebounding Badges
There’s only one rebounding badge in NBA 2K17. Here’s how to obtain it:| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Hustle Rebounder An elite rebounder known for chasing rebounds out of his area. | Perform 600 rebounds, 150 of them offensive. |
Inside Scoring Badges
These are shooter badges that can be obtained by performing actions under the hoop. They’re skill badges, so they can be updated up to gold. Here’s a list:| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Acrobat Can change his shot in air and attempt difficult shots with few consequences. | Perform 15 reverse layups and 5 change-shot layups in a season. |
| Dream-like Up and Under Excels at scoring in the post with up & under moves. | Attempt 50 up and under shots out of the post in a season. |
| Drop Stepper Has the ability to use the drop step move to his advantage in the post. | Attempt 30 drops tep moves in a season. |
| Pick & Roller Excels as the roller in the pick & roll game. | Score as the roller 100 times. |
| Post Spin Technician Dominates the post with spin & drive moves. | Perform 100 post spin or drive moves in a season. |
| Putback King Known for his ability to score baskets immediately off of offensive rebounds near the hoop. | Score 50 times after offensive rebounds. |
| Relentless Finisher Takes physical punishment on contact shots near the rim without severely impacting his energy. | Perform 75 contact layups in a season. |
| Tear Dropper Excels at making floaters and runners. | Perform 50 tear drops or floaters in a season. |
Outside Scoring Badges
These badges are awarded for outstanding performance in shooting threes and generally being a good long-range shooter. Once you’ve got them, you can use VC to improve them.| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Corner Specialist Known for his ability to knock down threes from the corner. | Hit 25 threes from a corner. |
| Deep-range Deadeye Knocks down shots from deep range at a very high percentage. | Hit 100 heavily contested deep range shots. |
| Difficult Shots Known for making tough shots off the dribble. | Hit 150 contested hop shots, step backs, dribble pull ups and leaners combined. |
| Limitless Range Can knock down very deep threes better than most. | Hit 50 threes from beyond the line |
| Mid-range Deadeye Knocks down shots from medium-range at a very high percentage. | Hit 200 heavily contested medium range shots. |
| Pick and Popper Excels as a pick & pop receiver. | Hit 200 shots as the popper. |
| Tireless Scorer A player who can spend a good deal of energy without losing effectiveness when attempting to score. | Attempt 200 shots while you’re exhausted. |
| Catch and Shoot Hits stand-still shots off the catch at a high percentage. | Attempt 100 shots after catching the ball. |
Athletic Badges
The last group of badges are related to skills and can be unlocked by performing various activities. Here’s a list of them:| Name/Description | How to unlock |
|---|---|
| Brick Wall Sets extremely effective screens. | Set 100 good screens in a season. |
| Bruiser The physical nature of this player drains energy from his match-up. | Set pick & rolls and make the defender push you. |
| Lob City Finisher Finishes alley-oops at a high rate. | Finish 15 alley-oops in a season. |
| One Man Fast Break Excels at taking the ball coast to coast on a fast break. | Score 75 fastbreaks in a season. |
| Posterizer Will succeed at dunking on opposing defenders more often than others. | Attempt 15 contact dunks in a season. |
