As the NBA has evolved in recent years, it’s become increasingly apparent that scoring isn’t done by teams with the same tendencies and strategies as in the past. Gone are the days when the big men ruling the paint were relied upon at a high rate to bury layups, hooks, and dunks from a close proximity to the hoop. The rise of analytics has caused many teams to shift their focus to the 3-point line by building a roster of efficient shooters from behind the arc. This role can prove to be just as invaluable within the confines of The City in NBA 2K25, where teams are constantly in demand for someone who can rack up points in bunches when they get hot.
But it can be harder than it looks to step into the parks and theaters and Rec Centers of The City and start lighting it up from deep. Every shooter goes through cold spells where seemingly no shot will fall, but there are some important factors to bear in mind that will have you contributing to the squad and back to draining threes in no time.
Here are some helpful tips to ensure that your swishes with a green release are plentiful while keeping your bricks few and far between.
How To Improve Your Shooting In NBA 2K25

Having What It Takes
The first thing to consider when trying to get more of your shots from the perimeter to fall is whether or not the build of your player is best suited to be taking these kinds of shots at all. Not everyone is meant to emulate Steph Curry by jacking up threes on a whim.
It’s at least worth considering where your skills line up and pass up these kinds of shots if you don’t have a 3-point or outside shooting rating that’s above 75 or so. Otherwise, you’ll be hard pressed to sink these shots at a high enough rate to justify the attempts. There’s no shame in knowing your role and sticking to your strengths, whether that be rebounding, passing, or setting screens to spring players open for threes that they can make with more consistency than you can.
Finding Your Shot
Not all jump shots are created equal and what works well for one person might lead to utter failure for someone else. That’s why it’s valuable to use NBA 2K25‘s jump shot creator to find a shot that feels natural to you. With the creator, you’ll be able to alter the vital elements of your shot to suit your own preferences. Do you prefer a quicker shot release to avoid defenders closing out and impacting your chances of finding the net? Is there a particular animation that you feel will be easier to repeat over and over again? This is your chance to experiment with the options that you have at your disposal depending on your size so try out a bunch of the variables.
However, be careful not to get too lost in the weeds of experimentation because there’s a learning curve with any new shot and sometimes you’re better off tweaking and practicing more with what you already have rather than starting from scratch again.

Dialing In Your Settings
If you’re still looking for ways to make your shot feel more natural, take a moment to go through some of the controller settings that can give you further sway over your input and how it influences your accuracy. For instance, you can adjust whether you want the ideal time to release the shot button to be just as your arm is starting forward, right as the ball is released from your hand, or somewhere in between.
This year you can even choose precisely how much you want your input to influence whether your shots are on target. You can go with the high risk-reward of making your input the most important factor for your shots or reduce that risk by having your input mean less than your player’s abilities and how open you are on any given shot.
Losing The Meter
While we’re on the subject of settings, we might as well talk about the shot meter and specifically how it can benefit you as a shooter, or if you should consider turning it off entirely. Sure, you can configure its look and location in a variety of ways to suit your preference, but none of these are liable to help you as much as abandoning the crutch of the visual cue altogether. That’s largely because the game rewards you for not using the meter by giving you a bit more leeway when it comes to the timing of your shot.
You might believe that the meter is incredibly integral to your success, but you’ll probably be surprised how little you actually miss it when you do decide to cast it aside. You already know when to release the button based on your shot animation, and your comfort level without a meter will only increase with every repetition that you do.

Taking Better Shots
Those who play any online modes in NBA 2K25 will likely notice that there are way too many players out there who are perfectly willing to settle for heavily contested shots. As you might expect, these players will typically end up converting a low percentage of these ill-advised field goal attempts. Even the best of shooters are going to struggle if they’re insisting on trying to score from the outside with a hand in their face rather than waiting for the ideal opportunities with open looks at the basket.
Don’t be a selfish player unwilling to pass up the ball to someone else when they might have a better chance at scoring. Use any available screens from willing teammates to create space or unleash a killer step-back in isolation. Anything you you can do to find some room that will make your shot as lethal as possible.
Getting In Rhythm
Rhythm shooting is another new addition to NBA 2K25, and it’s worth at least acquainting yourself with how it works and spending some time getting better with it. The mechanic basically has you trying to move the right stick back and forth in one fluid motion in rhythm with your player’s shot. Head to MyCourt to practice for a bit free of any consequences before trying it out either in a single-player NBA game or on an online court. Because the game provides you a bit of a boost for using this new and challenging way of shooting, you’ll find your shots are falling more often if you’re able to get at least halfway decent at repeating the required movement of the stick.
Published: Jan 16, 2025 04:31 pm