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These NBA 2K19 tips will help you score, dribble and steal
Producer Rob Jones reveals the best ways to improve at the basics in the big new basketball game.
NBA 2K19, the latest game in the world's most realistic basketball series, has arrived. Yes, fans of the sport can dribble, slam dunk and steal just like their heroes on the court, but playing like a pro isn't that simple.
With brand new features, upgrades, changes to AI, as well as game modes, it can be a difficult and gruelling process to get ahead. But thankfully, producer Rob Jones has given his own insights, telling us how you can score, dribble and defend. Here are his top tips.
The best way to score
It hasn’t really changed from the way it was before in terms of the mechanics but the timing is a new aspect. The timing window is a lot tighter in this game so the more skill you have, the easier it will be for you to make those shots. You definitely won’t need to learn a whole new way of playing, but working on your timing will be crucial.
I personally don’t have a foolproof way of scoring, but the best thing for me has always been utilising the basketball concepts of shooting when you’re open. Shooting when you’re open with a good player will almost always guarantee that you score.
The players who struggle are the ones who are forcing shots – they’re shooting in situations where no one would really excel at. There are only a couple of guys in the league who are shooting in the same percentage whether they’re fully covered or not, but for the most part you want to take advantage of a basketball situation which will definitely improve your accuracy and likelihood of scoring.
The most effective way to dribble
The mechanics has changed a little bit when it comes to dribbling but it’s down to your creativity and reacting to different situations. The new moves themselves are very standard to what you saw last year. We are not reinventing the wheel – more like making additions which will allow players to create more varied combinations. So being able to utilise those would be helpful.
You need to be creative when you're dribbling in NBA 2K19
© Visual Concepts
The best way to steal
Like shooting, the buttons and mechanics are exactly the same as in NBA 2K18 but we’ve implemented timing changes too. The feel of the timing will now count so much more. We’ve always felt like we could improve the understanding of when the best time is to hit that button. For years it felt so random that you could just walk up to a guy with the ball and start bashing on the button because there was no awareness of taking advantage of a vulnerable situation. A lot of care has gone into timing your steal against the right player.
The best way for novices to get into NBA 2K19
Realistically, you want a game that’s simple and accessible and can play it with just a couple buttons – pass and shoot. You can do that if you’re smart enough to just recognise basketball situations. So, the game is simple enough but if you’re going to have to put some time into practising it to do really cool moves that are available for you in the game. There is a full-on tutorial mode and a freestyle practice where you can go in and mess around until you feel comfortable enough that you can pull off the things you want to do in a match.
