NBA 2K17 Archetypes Guide: Choose Shooting Guard Position

NBA 2K17 is big of a success these months. By a large margin, the most popular game mode in the 2K series has been MyPlayer/MyCareer mode, which goes without saying. 2K Sports has dominated the NBA video game industry for several years now, thanks in large part to this feature. When you’re creating your MyPlayer, you’re charged with choosing a position and an archetype. 

Are you facing a dilemma to choose best archetype/position combination? It depends on what you're looking for in the player, but the popular choice for PGs is most likely Playmaker. Shot creator is also another option if you're not going for threes, but at the end of the day it's all down to what you feel is right for you.

In MyPlayer mode, players can create a custom player that can be used to play through story and career mode. Each year, the franchise takes their game to the next level with improvements to the story and big name stars as icons in the story.

The mode allows you to create a player in any position and have the flexibility of customizing player measurements and playing style. This article will analyze the various playing styles, or “archetypes”, that can be used and how these styles effect in-game action. We are kicking off the series with the shooting guard position where players will get to choose from five different archetypes.

Archetypes are preset playing styles for created MyPlayers. Selecting an archetype that fits your playing style is crucial and your MyPlayer base stats will default to higher or lower attribute stats in various areas depending on your selection. Below, we will go through the various archetypes available for the shooting guard position so that players can know what to expect when creating their MyPlayer.

Playmaker

For those that want opponents to fear the beard, you may want to consider yourself a playmaker. This archetype will allow the player to be a competent scoring from most areas on the floor, enough so that opponents will have to respect your shot and collapse on any opening you are given. However, a collapsing defense or double team is exactly what you want. A playmaker excels with ball handling and passing, similar to that of a point guard, and is able to swing a pass to a wide-open shooter or cutter for an easy bucket.

For this archetype, any player over 6’0” is probably ideal. Strength and speed will come in to play as you adjust, but your passing abilities will not be affected by size changes. Players can adjust the size of their created player based on playing style and goals for speed or strength.

LockDown Defender

This archetype is probably less popular amongst players as you are essentially setting yourself up to succeed on the end of the court that receives minimal accolades and star attention. In the NBA, very few players are known as lock down defenders. Overall, this player type will afford you a very nice overall player rating to start with as you will receive a boost in most of the athletic ability categories. Your bread-and-butter will be jumping passing lanes and getting steals in order to push a fastbreak offense, hopefully resulting in a score or assist.

The ideal defensive shooting guard should be between 6’3” and 6’5”. At this size, you will maintain a decent speed rating to keep up with the quick-footed slashers, but also have the length to defend shooters. While most of your offensive statistics will be mediocre at best, your athletic ratings will allow you to move fluidly around the court.

Slasher

This archetype is for players that enjoy driving to the basket and making layups or close range shots, even more so while taking contact. The player will have strengths in the layups and driving dunk categories, but will be relatively weak in outside shooting compared to other players at the position.

When choosing measurements for this archetype, your overall rating will be slightly higher in the 6’2” to 6’6” range. The balance will be finding that perfect height and weight as bigger measurements will provide strength and small measurements will provide speed. Depending on your playing style, you will want to adjust accordingly. As for weight, you may want to raise it if you want a stronger player for physical play and rebounding or a lighter player for speed and agility purposes.

Shot Creator

Having a player that is capable of finding holes in the defense, or making holes in the defense, can be very convenient during lulls in the game. When your team is struggling to make things happen offensively, a shot creator should be able to assess the defense and find a way to get a decent look at the basket. While these players are somewhat capable of shooting from outside, their strength generally lies in mid-to-close range shots.

The shot creator is pretty much equal in overall ratings at any size. Your player will be in their element when shooting off the dribble and is more likely to make shots in this manner. If you are the type of player that prefers to dribble around with the ball a decent amount, this might be your archetype choice.

Sharpshooter

2K's Sharpshooter archetype allows players to fully max out the 3PT Shooting and Mid-Range Shooting attribute groups, as well as earn borderline unstoppable outside shooting badges. Sharpshooters, like Klay Thompson, are shooting guards that like to roam the perimeter and do their damage from outside. By default, these players will be a little less competent driving to the basket than a slasher, but will be very adept from outside.

Measurements for the sharpshooter archetype similarly affect stats like speed and strength, but overall rating will vary less under this archetype based on size. An ideal shooter should be taller to lessen the chance of getting blocked, but the taller shooter will also be a little slower getting to their optimal shooting spots. Anything over 6’0” should be fine, but added height may also help you on the defensive end. More important than attribute ratings for this player will be the shooting stroke. You will need to learn where your player’s “sweet spot” is during the shooting motion to have a better shot at efficiently knocking down long range shots.

Over the years, the NBA 2K franchise has strived to make the most realistic basketball simulation and, without a doubt, their team has done a fantastic job.

Be sure to stay tuned for more "NBA 2K17" news, tricks, hacks, and cheats.