NBA 2K25 Small Forwards: How much does the perfect build cost?

NBA 2K25 launched Sept. 6, starting players of its enormously popular MyCareer suite all over again in search of building a player matched perfectly to a position and the user’s play style. Alone among sports games with a single-player career and, heck, even the larger role-playing genre from which they draw, NBA 2K faces players with an uncomfortable question.

How much does my NBA 2K build cost?

This is because player progression in NBA 2K’s career mode is advanced by spending Virtual Currency, and Virtual Currency can be bought up for real money. It’s literally a pay-to-win scenario, albeit with a few gates and brakes keeping players from buying everything they want immediately.

It’s tolerated probably because 2K Sports introduced the system more than a decade ago, long before such a scheme would draw an outcry in present day. Well that, and the fact MyCareer is probably the most popular mode in a very well done series that is a global best-seller.

Still, it introduces another consideration when players are scheming up their virtual hooper’s designs: Is there a way to more efficiently level up a created superstar, or optimize undervalued traits that return more steak than sizzle?

Let’s go ahead and answer that question, both for this guide to building the best small forward in NBA 2K25, and the other four positions coming soon: No.

NBA 2K’s progression-and-currency system is non-linear, and continually refined year-to-year, and even altered by things such as the player’s height depending on the attribute improved. The result is that spending 100,000 Virtual Currency (the amount included with this year’s $99.99 All-Star Edition) on an out-of-the-box, 60-rated player is likely to give you a 75-rated overall baller, almost regardless of build.

Further, to immediately rank a player up to MyCareer’s starting Overall cap of 85 will cost about 190,000 VC, almost regardless of the order in which the skills are upgraded.

So while I’ll be listing costs and ratings for these builds, bear in mind they all follow the same trajectory in terms of cost. The price tags presented are just to give you an idea of what you’re getting yourself into.

Explaining some build terms

Build order is the rank, in order, of each attribute’s importance to creating this player, figuring in its cost for a player of this physical makeup. Attributes with a lower return to the OVR may appear higher in the build because they’re so cheap; attributes critical to the build may appear lower because they are so expensive.

Rating at 100,000 VC means the player’s Overall rating when the Build Order is applied evenly until 100,000 is spent. Similarly, Cost at 85 Rating is how much VC is spent when the Build Order is evenly applied until the 85 level cap is reached.

Some players like to max out their Physical attributes (Speed, Strength, Vertical, and Agility) as well as Free Throw at the beginning of the career, either because they return little to the Overall Rating or because they’re gate points for certain animations. If this is a method of role-playing or development you take, we’ve tallied the cost of this improvement separately so you know what you’re in for.

An “out of position attribute” is one that, when fully maximized under this build, does not by itself return one point to the Overall score. This is basically the dead weight in your build. We’ve broken out their cost in case players prefer to max them out early in order to focus on more important qualities later, when they are earning more VC for stronger play in their Career.

NBA 2K25’s best Small Forward build: The Swiss Army Knife

• Height: 6-foot-10
• Weight: 228 lbs.
• Wingspan: 7-foot-5
• Rating at 100,000 VC:  75
• Cost at 85 rating: 189,997
• Cost to max Physicals and Free Throw: 33,866 VC
• Cost to max out-of-position attributes: Literally none, they are all in-position.
• Rating with Physicals and out-of-position attributes maxed: (68, at a cost of 33,866 VC)

Best value: While Block presents good bang-for-the-buck value, it doesn’t define this position’s value as much as Driving Dunk, which is what we want out of an old-school wing menace, running full-steam on the baseline to rim-hang a slam dunk. A close second is Three-Point Shot, another trait where a Small Forward shows distinction and value to his team.

Least value: Offensive Rebound is a crap-shoot regardless of size and rating. Though it was tough to put together any kind of a Build Order where every trait has value to the bottom line (and none start improving the OVR until they’ve been raised by at least 11), it was easy to put Offensive Rebound last on the list for all it expects and the meager returns it delivers.

Build order for a Swiss Army Knife

1. Three-Point Shot
2. Defensive Rebound
3. Driving Dunk
4. Mid-Range Shot
5. Perimeter Defense
6. Driving Layup
7. Strength
8. Block
9. Speed
10. Vertical
11. Ball Handle
12. Pass Accuracy
13. Post Control
14. Speed With Ball
15. Close Shot
16. Free Throw
17. Steal
18. Standing Dunk
19. Interior Defense
20. Agility
21. Offensive Rebound

• Tier 1 Badges Bronze: Deadeye, Paint Patroller, Posterizer, Rebound Chaser, Rise Up, Unpluckable, Versatile Visionary.
• Tier 1 Badges Silver: Boxout Beast, Break Starter, Brick Wall, Interceptor, Paint Prodigy, Physical Finisher, Post Powerhouse, Post-Up Poet, Set Shot Specialist, 
• Tier 1 Badges Gold: Post Fade Phenom,
• Tier 2 Badges Bronze: Ankle Assassin, Challenger, Handles for Days, High-Flying Denier, Layup Mixmaster, Lightning Launch, Post Lockdown, Shifty Shooter, 
• Tier 2 Badges Silver: Dimer, Float Game, Glove, Hook Specialist, Immovable Enforcer, 
• Tier 2 Badges Gold: Aerial Wizard, Off-Ball Pest
• Tier 2 Badges Hall of Fame: Strong Handle

Why I chose the Swiss Army Knife for a Small Forward build

The difficulty with creating a realistic and talented swingman is capturing his means of serving multiple roles without watering down any to the point he’s an unreliable contributor. Those who choose to play a Small Forward also understand that this role is more about varying your game and making smart choices — in shot selection, in seeing the floor for open teammates — than delivering overwhelming execution that can break any defense. If you have fall-back tendencies, with a Swiss Army Knife they will land in a good-but-not-great department that even the AI can mitigate.

All that said, I am impressed at how much all-around contribution NBA 2K25 will wring out of a build with just the right mixture of physicals and position. The inspiration taking me to the Swiss Army Knife was a classic wing forward, as solid on outside shooting as he is driving the baseline — whether that’s to go to the rim or draw the defense and hit an open man. The difference between the Swiss Army Knife and his swing counterpart at two (the 2-Way Scoring Threat) is his defense and rebounding capabilities are more what you’d expect of a rangy post player.

This is not a build for myself as I tend to focus on doing one phase of a basketball player’s game with overwhelming force, and playing just enough defense to be a pain in the ass, while using size to grab rebounds. The Swiss Army Knife has the pain in the ass and the rebounding covered, and can score from anywhere on the floor. Maybe not at will, but especially with a 6-10 build, catching someone in a mismatch makes a Swiss Army Knife into a two-handed sword.

Best teams for this Small Forward

This swingman is so versatile that he could plausibly be a big contributor on any team, whether that’s your favorite, a Herculean rebuilding project, or a front-runner lock for the playoffs. I tend to make my recommendation on putting players with great teams who have weak incumbents at the position. Here again, we have the Timberwolves.

Oklahoma City and Memphis are both worth a look, Dallas and the Clippers if they don’t float your boat. None of these teams used a first-round draft pick on the small forward position (some did draft for it in the second round). Rather than wearing the hair-shirt of being a savior to a perennial draft tanker, I prefer situations where I can play as a manna-from-heaven rookie pick who puts a strong, fun club over the top in his debut year.

What about other positions?

• Here’s the recommended Point Guard build, a 3-Level Scoring Playmaker.
• Here’s the recommended Shooting Guard build, a 3-Way Scoring Threat.
• Here’s the recommended Center build, a 2-Way Inside-the-Arc Maestro.

Virtual Currency prices in NBA 2K25

These prices are the same regardless of platform (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X).

• 5,000 VC: $1.99
• 15,000 VC: $4.99
• 35,000 VC: $9.99
• 75,000 VC: $19.99
• 200,000 VC: $49.99
• 450,000 VC: $99.99
• 700,000 VC: $149.99

Featured image via 2K Sports (screen capture)

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