Another year, another 2K! In this short piece, I’ll be guiding anyone lacing up to play as a Center in creating the best NBA 2K21 Center build. Big men are vital for any team in any 2K game mode. This Center build will be able to play great defense not only in the paint, but outside on the perimeter. This build will work for park line-ups and of course play a crucial role in Pro am/Rec center games, too. You’ll be able to shoot consistently with 19 HoF shooting badges, and be a versatile defender, ready to switch on anyone with 21 HoF defensive badges.
SKILL BREAKDOWN, PHYSICAL PROFILE & SETTING YOUR CENTER BUILD POTENTIAL
This year, it looks like Power Forward builds will be a better option over Centers.
Power Forwards seem more versatile on both the offensive and defensive end. This build also gets an extra finishing badge as a Power Forward, so we’ll start off from there. There have been a few new additions for pie-charts this year, but we’ll be sticking to a popular one from last year, which is the red and green pie-chart. Next for your physical profile, go for the balanced pie-chart which is placed near the bottom. It might be on the lower end when it comes to strength, but we’re looking for an all-round versatile player for the best Center build in NBA 2K21.
Last year, strength was not that important (unless you played as a post-scorer). With this pie-chart we get enough strength to box-out and take advantage of a mismatch. We’ll be quick enough to run fast breaks and switch onto a variety of builds defensively. We also have a solid amount of vertical, which helps with rebounding and also with dunking.
Great variety of badges and all-round physical stats
Follow the numbers above and you’ll have 7 finishing, 19 shooting, 1 playmaking and 21 defensive badges. These badges allow us to be a good option inside, a consistent shooter and a great defender all over the court.
HEIGHT, WEIGHT & WINGSPAN
6’9 appears as a good choice for a Center this year
Tall Center builds in NBA 2K are becoming a thing of the past. The simple fact is this: when you’re taller, shooting stats drop significantly and your build is not fast enough to keep up with quick players. As a tall player, you will be dominant inside. But in a game where everything stands on speed and the three-ball, being tall is not a priority. We need to be a versatile big. We want to be able to stretch the floor, be threatening enough inside, play good defense and crash boards. I opted to go for 6’9″ for our height.
This may be on the shorter side for a Center, but with 21 defending badges we have enough to be able to be a solid defender in the paint. In fact, at this height, we can defend any build. So, go down to 6’9”. For the weight section, go 238lbs. This gives us a +1 on interior defense without losing much.
Max wingspan is crucial to cover up for our shorter height
Max your wingspan. We’re on the shorter side of things as a 6’9″ Center, so maxing our wingspan is vital. It boosts our defensive badges significantly, gives us a better shot contest and will help rebounding by quite a bit. We lose some shooting stats but that’s fine. We currently stand at a 67 3-ball, but at 99 overall we get a +4, bringing us to 71. If you buy shooting boosts on top of the 19 shooting badges we have, we’ll be a consistent shooter on the 3-point line. Also, more good news for shooters as quickdraw got removed for NBA 2K21. We wont lose any shooting badge points to quickdraw, which allows us to be even more of a threateningly efficient shooter.
TAKEOVER
Rim Protector is a safe option for NBA 2K21
For your takeover option, I’d recommend the Rim Protector badge. As useful as the Glass Cleaner takeover is, Rim Protector gives Centers a key ability. If you have Rim Protector, you can make passing lane reach attempts without taking a loss to your takeover progress. This, alongside the ability to get unique block animations and boosts to your shot contest makes Rim Protector takeover a great choice.
So there’s the best Center build for NBA 2K21. I’ll personally be using this build, but which build do you think is great? What position are you planning on playing as? Drop a comment below and enjoy lacing up for this year’s NBA 2K21!
Power Forward Please
Please do an actual power forward build. I like your center build, it seems well thought out, but I need a build for power forward. I made one already and have identified a few changes I want to make, with PS5 coming out soon we will all have to start our players over, and it’s a great time to implement new ideas and improvements.
Atilla Bertiz
Thanks for dropping a comment!
I have some more build guides in the works but i’m just waiting for the next generation of consoles to arrive. It’s going to be interesting to see if the game dynamics are different and whether or not certain builds/badges work over others.
Will have to test some stuff out on the newer generation on consoled. Stay tuned for more guides in the near future 🙂
Thanks for dropping a comment!
I have some more build guides in the works but i’m just waiting for the next generation of consoles to arrive. It’s going to be interesting to see if the game dynamics are different and whether or not certain builds/badges work over others.
Will have to test some stuff out on the newer generation on consoles. Stay tuned for more guides in the near future 🙂
Sorry
I have a 7’3 290 max wingspan Glass Cleaning Lockdown and I shit on every short C/PF I see. 20+ PPG and 20+ RPG. These short builds probably dominate park, but please don’t pretend they’re better than a big body in 5v5 games. It’s actually a joke.
Sure, the short builds will space and run the floor better than the max height build – but that’s about it. They sacrifice rebounding and compared to a bigger player, defense. Maybe I haven’t played against a good one yet, I’m willing to accept that … but I feel these builds can’t hang in 5v5 play. At least against me they can’t.
Atilla Bertiz
Hello mate, thanks for dropping a comment 🙂
I was a 7’3 center last year too! What tends to happen is you dominate in the opening few weeks of the game. Your physicals give you a massive advantage in a period where people don’t have max badges, physicals, or a high overall in general.
Unfortunately as the year goes on, your physicals won’t be enough. There’s a reason to why 7’3 doesn’t exist in the competitive scene anymore. That’s because your PG will need a more versatile center. This is especially the case in 3v3 modes. I also find it more useful to be able to score in a variety of ways. Having a jumpshot helps immensely.
Granted, there are plenty of Red/Blue centers in the competitive scene, but these builds are shorter and therefore extremely fast. They can switch out on pick n roll defense, guard inside, rebound and run the fast break quickly. They also finish lobs a lot better than a 7’3 C. Lobs are currently the meta play-style.
I suggest Green/Red because as the guide indicates, it is the most versatile C build in the game.
Maybe i’m just not as good as you on a 7’3 center 🙂 Good luck, glad you’re enjoying your build!
Luis
So is this a power forward or a center
Atilla Bertiz
Technically a PF build but its height, weight and wingspan is perfect for a Center. You just get more finishing badges as a PF. Hope this helps!