NBA 2K24 introduced a new feature in the MyPlayer Builder called NBA Templates. Well, it’s not a totally new feature but it’s a re-imagining of a popular feature from 2K23 called Replicas. With Replicas, you received the nicknames of NBA players past and present by closely replicating their attributes when creating your MyPlayer. So, for example, if your attributes were similar to that of Allen Iverson, then your archetype name would be The Answer.
This feature has been revamped to feature templates for current NBA players you can use right away. You can either keep the attributes as is, or you can customize it to your liking. Keeping the attributes the way they are will allow you to receive the animations of that NBA player right out of the gate. So if you chose Kyrie Irving’s template, you’ll receive his dribble moves if you don’t change the attributes.
There are several templates for all five positions and more are planned to be added over time. But we’re going to rank the best templates by position from the initial group of templates. Just keep in mind that MyPlayer builds are all about preference so if you are rolling with a template, think about what kind of player you want to be. We’re just giving you some food for thought.
And if none of the templates are satisfying, just tweak the attributes to your liking if the animations aren’t important to you — or just go ahead and create your own MyPlayer from scratch. Or, maybe you want have both an NBA template build and a totally custom build on two different MyCareer saves. The choice is yours. But, without further delay, here are the best NBA MyPlayer templates by position in NBA 2K24.
NBA 2K24: The Best NBA MyPlayer Templates By Position
IMPORTANT: These template builds are decent but may not satisfy your needs, so I would highly recommend still tweaking their attributes to suit your style more. Or, if you do want to go with the default attributes of the templates, then I’d recommend rolling with it as a second or third build, not your primary.
Point Guard: LaMelo Ball
Ironically, LaMelo’s template is the very first template that pops up when you head to the screen. The young Hornets PG has proven to be one of the NBA’s best facilitators when healthy. His MyPlayer template shows this perfectly with excellent playmaking attributes, and although most of the PGs have this, LaMelo still manages to possess a balance in other key areas such as shooting and finishing. That 87 ball handle complements his inside-out scoring abilities that feature an 88 layup, 83 driving dunk, and an 82 three-ball. Not to mention, he’s standing at 6-foot-7 and although he’s not the only big guard here (in fact, the two honorable mentions are also 6-foot-7), he’s the most explosive of the big guards having the highest speed with ball, speed, and acceleration ratings.
Other Mentions
Another PG that definitely stood out is Luka Doncic who, as you expect, possesses strong skills on the offensive side of the basketball with an 87 driving layup, 86 mid-range, and 80 three. But his playmaking is where things are at its juiciest with a jaw-dropping 96 pass accuracy to go along with an 85 ball handle and a 75 speed with ball. Defense isn’t elite but it’s fairly comfortable with a 65 perimeter defense rating while also having a 66 defensive rebound rating too, which can come in handy with his 6-foot-7 size.
Another versatile point guard, Cade Cunningham was going to be my main choice but LaMelo’s passing combined with his other skills is much too valuable. That said, Cade’s template is awesome, featuring terrific shooting that includes a deadly 90 mid-range shot to go along with an 80 three-pointer. As for his playmaking, he doesn’t have the pass accuracy like LaMelo or Luka but still has a strong 80, which with the boost will bump that up to 85. He then has an 87 ball handle and 81 speed with ball. The one thing that does separate Cade from others is that his template probably has the most versatile defensive attributes with a 75 perimeter D, 55 interior D (pretty solid for a PG), 55 block (ditto), and a 70 defensive rebound.
Shooting Guard: Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown has one of the better, all-around templates in NBA 2K24. He can finish, shoot, handle, and play strong defense on the perimeter. He’s on the slower half of the shooting guards but most of the faster two-guards have about 80 speed while Jaylen is at 75 with both speed and acceleration. Although it’s not a very popular attribute in MyCareer, Jaylen’s template also possesses a 72 post control rating, which tops all shooting guards. Combined with everything else he can do, the post control may come in handy in sort of a sneaky way.
Other Mentions
A couple of other players of note include Klay Thompson. The best three-point shooter of the bunch, if you want to start drilling shots left and right, then you can do that with his 92 three-point rating and his 90 mid-range rating. He’s also the second best perimeter defender of the two guards only behind former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. He also possesses enough handles and finishing to drive to the basket if necessary.
The next mention is Anthony Edwards. You want explosive finishing and some solid shooting in your two-guard build? Then this is a good template. It was kind of tough deciding between Ant and Zach LaVine as their template attributes are so similar but Ant has the edge in defense. He can of course throw it down with authority with his 90 driving dunk rating while still being able to shoot with an 80 three ball. On top of this, he can bust ankles on his way to those dunks with an 85 ball handle and 80 speed with ball. I’ll also give a quick nod to Josh Giddey whose playmaking attributes are pretty crazy (95 pass accuracy, 85 ball handle, 77 speed with ball), but I didn’t choose him because his style fits more for point guards and not shooting guards in this case.
Small Forward: Jayson Tatum
From one Boston Celtic to another, Jayson Tatum’s template, like Jaylen Brown’s, does a little bit of everything. All shooting attributes in the 80s, driving dunk and layup in the 80s, ball handle right at 80, and a strong, balanced defensive game led by an 85 perimeter defensive rating. Some of the other highlights on D for Jayson include a 65 interior defense rating, 65 steal, 68 block, and a 70 for defensive rebounds so he can snag a few boards while he’s getting buckets. His main weakness is speed. However, it’s still a 75 and everyone’s speed is in the 70s with the small forward templates except for Jimmy Butler who has an 80 speed.
Other Mentions
Speaking of Jimmy Butler, his template is great if you want to put more emphasis on defense without sacrificing much offense. An 87 perimeter defense rating and an 89 steal is a scary combination, and he’s the best playmaker of the small forwards with an 80 pass accuracy that can come in handy for a hybrid position like SF. He’s also the fastest of the group with an 80 speed and can finish well around the rim while still having enough shooting to be a threat.
Paul George‘s attributes are bit similar to Jimmy’s except he’s a better ball handler with an 85, better shooter with an 80 three and mid-range rating, and he has a higher driving dunk rating at 85. So you’ll have the opportunity to possibly bust some ankles as you drive to the basket or shoot a three with PG’s template. And by the way, he also has a 91 perimeter defense rating too. Last quick mention goes to Michael Porter Jr. The best shooter of the SFs, MPJ has size as well being 6-foot-10. He does lack defense for the most part but his shooting certainly makes up for it with a mid-range rating of 91 and a three-point rating of 84.
Power Forward: Karl-Anthony Towns
I was a little torn on this because there a couple of other good options as well, but of course, we’ll do our “Other Mentions” below. Karl Anthony-Towns is one of the best offensive bigs in the game and his template is a reminder of that. A 90 standing dunk will allow you to posterize opponents in the paint and he has an 80 layup, 75 driving dunk, and a 86 post control. On top of this, he has a 90 mid-range and 80 three-point rating while being 7 feet tall. He can also dribble too with a 67 ball handle. He’s not a a great shot blocker with a 55 block rating but most of the PF templates don’t have a great block rating anyway. Plus, KAT has a comfortable 75 interior defense and a very strong defensive rebounding rating of 86 to make up for it. Then he has an 86 strength to help complement his inside scoring abilities. His size combined with his inside-out scoring and rebounding make KAT’s template a fun option.
Other Mentions
This one is for the pure stretch fours out there. There are a couple of other good shooting PF templates including KAT’s, but Cam Johnson cranks things up. The Nets forward has an incredible 94 mid-range shot to go along with an amazing 86 three ball making him the best shooting four of the bunch. He also has finishing attributes that are mostly in the 70s, which is not bad for essentially a pure stretch. He does posses an 80 driving layup too. Cam’s playmaking features both a 68 pass accuracy and 68 ball handle while he has a balanced defense with a 75 interior and perimeter defense. Defensive rebound is only a 70 but that’s kind of serviceable considering his high shooting attributes are taking up space. His template also has the fastest speed rating of all the PFs at 75.
Evan Mobley has a very interesting template too. Extremely balanced finishing attributes to go along with a balanced defensive attack that includes an interior D rating of 85, perimeter D rating of 70, an impressive 87 block, and an 82 defensive rebound. Plus, he has size as a 6-foot-11 big with a 7-foot-4 wingspan. Shooting is a weakness, but he can still knock down some shots with a 70 three-point and a smooth 78 mid-range. Going back to Evan’s finishing stats, everything here is in the 80s including an 85 standing dunk, which is the highlight here. To go along with his finishing ability and his terrific defense, he’s also a balanced playmaker with a 70 pass accuracy, 60 ball handle, and a 65 speed with ball.
Center: Domantas Sabonis
I was stuck between Sabonis and Nikola Jokic for our top spot because their attributes are incredibly similar. Ultimately, Domantas claims the spot as his template has the edge in rebounding, scoring, and size. The Kings center can rebound with the best of them and can score from anywhere on the floor with an 84 driving layup, 90 post control, 90 mid-range, and an 82 three-point rating. He also can dribble really well for his size with a 65 ball handle to complement his very nice 83 pass accuracy.
And as mentioned earlier, Domantas is strong on the glass with a 90 defensive rebound and 75 offensive rebound. Blocking is weak, but to be honest, most of the templates for the bigs have relatively low block ratings. His 86 strength also comes in handy if you want to use a little power to get to the basket. Also, that aforementioned 83 pass accuracy is terrific for a center and pretty important, especially on those fast break opportunities when you need to pass down the court. Aside from the blocking, the combination of size, scoring, playmaking, and rebounding make Domantas’ template great.
Other Mentions
One of the 75 greatest players in NBA history and undoubtedly one of the most versatile big templates, Anthony Davis can finish in the paint with all finishing attributes in the 80s or higher except for driving layup, which is a 70. He also can dribble extremely well for a center with a 70 ball handling attribute while pass accuracy is serviceable at a 60. The Brow’s defense is his biggest strength with an 85 interior D, 87 block, and 86 defensive rebound while using his familiar 7-foot-6 wingspan. And although he’s not an elite shooter, he can still knock down some shots with a 76 mid-range and 70 three-point rating.
The very last player we’ll mention here is regarded as one of the best rebounders ever in the real NBA. Andre Drummond‘s template is your classic big from an attribute standpoint. He can finish at the rim with the best of them with an 80 driving dunk and a powerful 92 standing dunk rating, which is complemented by a 90 strength rating. He can also knock down layups too with a 70 in that category. His sneakily decent 68 pass accuracy is a nice touch as well for this traditional big. We mentioned the Big Penguin’s elite rebounding skills and his ratings show that with an incredible 95 defensive rebound and 90 offensive rebound. Not to mention he’s 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan to go along with a 75 vertical to make grabbing boards quite a breeze.
