NBA 2K26 Update Post Scoring vs Post Defense video

We tested 200 drop steps at every badge level to find out the effectiveness of post powerhouse in 2K26. Here's everything you need to know. All tests were run on equal builds, which means the same weight, height, strength, post control, and interior where only the badge levels changed. And this heat map shows every make percentage for every scenario of post powerhouse versus post lockdown. Now, there's a lot of data here, but I'm going to break down the key points to simplify it. Looking diagonally at the chart, you can see it's almost perfectly flat, which tells us that the badges neutralize each other almost perfectly at every tier. So, if your opponent matches your investment, you essentially gain nothing. But with no post lockdown, you'll probably get cooked in the post, even against bronze or silver post powerhouse at a 59 to 61% clip. Silver provides a solid jump among the early tiers and looks to be a decent value spot. Gold is the typical sweet spot and will be pretty reliable for most matchups, but it starts to get expensive. The good news though, post lockdown is very rare in most lobbies, which means your gold badge is usually going into an uncontested matchup. And at a 64 1/2% clip, that's a legitimate weapon. Now, each badge jumped about 3 to 4% on average from the previous badge level. But as we get to Hall of Fame in Legend, the average jumps to about 5% each, which marks a clear boost at these higher levels. Also, Legend Powerhouse is the only badge to hit above 50% success rate against Legend postlockdown. Now, when it comes to postlockdown, bronze and silver can provide meaningful impact without overinvesting. Gold can be very effective, but it's important to note the honest reality of most lobbies, which is one, post scores are already pretty rare, which renders the investment of postlockdown pretty useless if you're not playing one. And then number two, investing past gold for either badge is a niche decision and should be reserved for players who want to specialize solely in that area. When considering these things, going to Hall of Fame or Legend post lockdown definitely seems like overkill. And we recommend bronze or silver if you want to play solid defense. And if you want to counter post powerhouse without having an elite badge level of post lock, there's a few factors that can help, which is strength, weight, and height, which is in order from most to least impactful. Another thing to note is that interior defense does help and it correlates with a higher post lock level, but the attribute itself is very valuable when it comes to stopping post powerhouse. Ultimately, postcoring is one of the more rare aspects you encounter on 2K. And when targeting badge levels for your builds, it's important to consider that so you don't overspend on something you may not use. Now, that is all we have for this badge test. Don't forget to drop a like if you found this video helpful, and I'll catch you guys in the next one later.