NBA 2K23: Best Power Forward (PF) Build and Tips - Outsider Gaming (2024)

The best player in basketball is arguably “The Greek Freak,” Giannis Antetokounmpo. With his mesmerizing combination of size, length, devastating finishing, and elite defensive prowess, he is the ultimate two-way player. Out of every superstar in the game today, he puts forth the most effort on a nightly basis, whether it’s chasing a rebound or blocking a shot. His tenacity on both ends of the court along with his humble background make him a crowd favorite and a worthy person of being crowned the best player in the NBA.

With this in mind, he is a model for the GLASS-CLEANING FINISHER build for power forwards, one that serves to mimic his best qualities. The build offers an uber-athletic 6’10” hybrid with vicious slashing ability and driving potential. It’s the perfect cross between a wing and big man, giving the build the ultimate defensive versatility. Truly, your player will be positionless because of your capacity to be a playmaker off of drives while also locking up dangerous bigs on the other end.

With this build, your player will have shades of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Evan Mobley, John Collins, and Julius Randle. Put simply, if you want to be most athletic beast on the court who is wreaking havoc in the paint, then this build is everything you could want and more.

Power forward build overview

Below, you will find the key attributes to build the best Power Forward in NBA 2K23:

• Position: Power Forward
• Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’10’’, 239 lbs, 7’8’’
• Finishing skills to prioritize: Close Shot, Driving Dunk, Standing Dunk
• Shooting skills to prioritize: Three-Point Shot
• Playmaking skills to prioritize: Pass Accuracy, Ball Handle
• Defense & Rebounding skills to prioritize: Interior Defense, Block, Offensive Rebound, Defensive Rebound
• Physical skills to prioritize: Strength, Vertical, Stamina 
• Top Badges: Bully, Limitless Takeoff, Hyperdrive, Anchor
• Takeover: Finishing Moves, Boxout Wall
• Best Attributes: Driving Dunk (93), Close Shot (84), Ball Handle (77), Block (93), Offensive Rebound (93), Strength (89)
• NBA Player Comparisons: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Evan Mobley, John Collins, Julius Randle

Body profile

At 6’10” and 239 lbs, you’re bigger than most players on the court, allowing you to bully the defense. Even the tallest players in the league won’t have too much height on you, and players like Boban Marjanović might not have the speed to cover you. On top of this, the 7’8” wingspan likely gives you the longest reach for a four and enables you to cover large parts of the court. A long wingspan is essential to elite defensive play, particularly for someone tasked with protecting the rim at times. The body shape to go with here is compact, though it is up to your preference.

Attributes

The Glass-Cleaning Finisher specializes in scoring buckets in the paint, no matter the defender in front of them. They’re tall enough to punish smaller defenders and athletic enough to speed past bigs. The most important value in this build arguably lies in its defense. You have an all-around defensive menace who can function as a free safety roaming around the paint, blocking shots from every angle.

Finishing Attributes

Close Shot: 84
Driving Layup: 75
Driving Dunk: 93
Standing Dunk: 80
Post Control: 29

Your player’s finishing will be headlined by 84 Close Shot, 93 Driving Dunk, and 80 Standing Dunk, giving you a powerful driver capable of dunking on anybody. Totaling 20 badge points, the build produces an absolute beast in the paint, feasting on less athletic defenders and imposing their will on the game. You’ll have three Hall of Fame badges, seven gold badges, two silver badges, and four bronze badges. Of course, the Bully badge is the most important one to equip in order to capitalize on the 89 Strength. Just like Antetokounmpo, you’ll be able to bulldoze your away to the paint and drag defenders with you. Scoring in the paint will be effortless due to your exceptional wingspan and athleticism and these attributes will complement your body profile beautifully.

Shooting Attributes

Mid-Range Shot: 55
Three-Point Shot: 70
Free Throw: 46

Shooting really isn’t a trait valued in this build, but it’s important to enlist the badges that will you knockdown those rare jump shots and create some floor spacing. Though you only have six badge points, you still have access to one Hall of Fame badge, two gold badges, four silver badges, and seven bronze badges. Out of all the shooting attributes, a 70 Three-Point Shot is most important for this build because three-pointers reign supreme in the modern NBA.

Playmaking Attributes

Pass Accuracy: 76
Ball Handle: 77
Speed With Ball: 67

Even though you may not be the primary ball handler, you still want your player to be able to be a playmaker and make your teammates better, not to mention enough ball handling to maintain control of the ball. With 16 badge points, your best attribute is 77 Ball Handle because smaller defenders will inevitably try to take advantage of your towering height and pluck the ball away from you. With four gold, seven silver, and four bronze badges, your player can serve as a secondary playmaker that complements a scoring guard well.

Defense Attributes

Interior Defense: 80
Perimeter Defense: 46
Steal: 61
Block: 93
Offensive Rebound: 93
Defensive Rebound: 80

With 23 badge points, the defense on this build is overwhelmingly prioritized, to say the least. Supplemented by 80 Interior Defense, 93 Block, 93 Offensive Rebound, and 80 Defensive Rebound, your player will be flying around on the defensive end and putting away easy put backs on offense. As a disruptor, you’ll have access to one Hall of Fame badge, six gold badges, two silver badges, and five bronze badges, making it extremely difficult for the opposition to get anything easy in the paint. In your role as a free safety on the defense, you’ll be able to discourage attacks on the rim, swat shots away, and chase down potential fast break opportunities. Ultimately, you’re capable of defending all five positions with enough lateral quickness for smaller players and enough size and strength for bigger players.

Physical Attributes

Speed: 76
Acceleration: 70
Strength: 89
Vertical: 82
Stamina: 88

The 89 Strength will complement your player’s blistering physicality nicely. You’ll easily be able to displace defenders and gain interior positioning, which is not only necessary for finishing, but also rebounds and paint protection. Also, the 88 Stamina and 82 Vertical will aid your overall athletic prowess.Your 76 Speed doesn’t make you fast, but among the quicker bigs.

Takeovers

The build’s best form of offense is driving in the paint, so a primary takeover of Finishing Moves will help you absorb contact well and make defenders bounce off of you. Moreover, offensive and defensive rebounding is a key asset for your player, which is why Boxout Wall for a secondary takeover makes sense. This gives you more chances for put back scoring opportunities and potential fast break openings, turning defense to offense.

Best badges to equip

Together, these badges will create a player with supreme finishing, rebounding, and defense. The reach on this player makes sure there’s not a spot on the court that isn’t adequately defended. Other 2K players will love playing with you because your player will be equipped to handle all the dirty work and embrace physicality in an era where shooting and finesse is emphasized.

Best Finishing Badges

3 Hall of Fame, 7 Gold, 2 Silver, and 4 Bronze with 20 potential badge points

• Fearless Finisher: This badge will strengthen your player’s ability to finish through contact layups while also preventing the amount of energy lost. As a bigger player, you’re more prone to contact on drives, which is why it’s important to have this badge. Also, stamina is vital to maintain because all of those drives will tire your player out, so this badge will keep those energy levels high.
• Masher: As a bigger player, you want to ensure you punish smaller players. Luckily, this badge will improve your ability to finish well around the rim, even if other defenders are in the way.
• Bully: As mentioned previously, this badge is one of the most important for this build. It is key to initiating contact and bulldozing defenders as they bump off you. With your and 7’8” wingspan and 89 Strength, your player will be near impossible to stay contain, let alone stop
• Limitless Takeoff: Your athletic 6’10” build will mean very few players on the court will be able to stick with you, especially on the fast break. With this badge, your player can dunk from farther out than others when attacking the basket. Think about when Antetokounmp picks up a head of steam on a fast break and how it’s difficult to defend because his lengthy frame allows him to pick up his dribble from the almost the three-point line. He’s even pulled out some euro steps from that deep, which is astounding. Thus, your player can give meaning to “limitless takeoff” in a way that other guards simply can’t.

Best Shooting Badges

1 Hall of Fame, 2 Gold, 4 Silver, and 7 Bronze with 6 potential badge points

• Catch & Shoot: Your shooting isn’t really emphasized, but with a 70 Three-Point Shot, you’re still respectable. Though you can’t shoot off the dribble, in times when you’re spotting up, this badge will give you a significant boost to your shooting attributes for short time after receiving the pass.
• Claymore: Similar to Catch & Shoot, you want your player to be ready when you get the opportunity to shoot a jumper. This badge will increase the ability to knock down perimeter shots when spotting up patiently.Since your Three-Point Shot isn’t too high, this badge is crucial to increase your chances of draining threes.

Best Playmaking Badges

4 Gold, 7 Silver, and 4 Bronze with 16 potential badge points

• Quick First Step: With your size, having this badge is a cheat code. You’ll be able to blow by guards and explode into upstart combination moves in the paint. This badge will provide more explosive first steps out of triple threat and size-ups along with quicker and more effective launches as the ball handler.Just be wary of trying to blow past guards and smaller forwards on a mismatch, opting for post ups instead.
• Vice Grip: As a bigger player, you’re vulnerable to ball pokes and steal attempts by smaller, weaker defenders who are trying to do what they can to stop you. Thus, this badge will increase your player’s ability to secure the ball against steal attempts after obtaining possession from a rebound, catch, or loose ball.You don’t want someone like Chris Paul sneaking around on a rebound and obtaining a steal on an unsuspecting big, as he’s done many times in his career, so Vice Grip is crucial.
• Hyperdrive: This badge geos hand-in-hand with the finishing badges equipped by affording you increased speeds to perform moving dribble moves as you attack down the court. Pairing this with your 89 Strength and Bully badge is an effective way to make quick work of defenders who test you in the paint.
• Post Playmaker: When you’re backing down players in the post, you want to be able to hit open shooters when the defense starts to close in on you. Thus, when passing out of the post or after an offensive rebound, this badge will give your teammates a shot boost.Look for an open three-point shooter after an offensive rebound since the defense is likely to collapse for the board.

Best Defense and Rebounding Badges

1 Hall of Fame, 6 Gold, 2 Silver, and 5 Bronze with 23 potential badge points

• Anchor: This badge increases your player’s ability to block shots and protect the rim at a high level. Your player’s free safety role on defense will be menacing with this badge and 93 Block. The shot-contesting in the paint will make life difficult for guards trying to drive to the cup.
• Pogo Stick: This badge allows your player to quickly go back up for another jump upon landing regardless of if it’s after a rebound, a block attempt, or even a jump shot. With an 88 Stamina, this lends credence to the build’s “glass-cleaning” moniker.It also allows you to quickly recover after biting on a fake, possibly quickly enough to disrupt or even block the shot.
• Chase Down Artist: No easy buckets will be allowed on your watch. Your player’s overwhelming stride and athleticism comes into play here. This badge will boost the speed and leaping ability of your player when he is chasing down an offensive player in anticipation of a block attempt.
• Brick Wall: One of the many reasons players will love playing with you is because of badges like these. You’ll have increased effectiveness at performing screens, you’ll be tough to backdown in the post, and you’ll drain immense energy from opponents upon physical contact. Don’t be surprised to see weaker players fall to the ground when hitting you on a screen, creating a brief five-on-four situation.

What you’ll get from the Glass-Cleaning Finisher build

Ultimately, this power forward build serves to model the ultimate two-way player in the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo. You’re equipped with likely the best finishing package for a big man while also being an absolute menace on the defensive end. You’ll be the ultimate, do-everything team player who is able to finish hard in the paint, facilitate to open teammates, rebound to start the fast break, and send blocked shots flying away in NBA 2K23.

Looking for more NBA content? Here is our guide to the best badges for an SG in NBA 2K23.