The game of basketball is a challenge of wits and athleticism in equal measure. If you notice a gap in the opponents’ positioning, you can exploit it on the fly for easy buckets. Similarly, if you’ve got a threat who needs to be shut down defensively on the wing, you’ll want to make sure your players are in the right position. Here’s how to call plays in NBA 2K20.
How to Call Plays in NBA 2K20 (Offensive & Defensive)
First off, press L1 (PS4), LB (Xbox One) or L (Switch). This will bring up a list of potential plays that you can select. Either choose the play by pressing the corresponding button again, or cycle through the options with L2 (PS4), LT (Xbox One) or ZL (Switch).
If you want a more detailed play selection, reminiscent of previous editions of NBA 2K, press R1 (PS4), RB (Xbox One) or R (Switch) to select positional playcalling. This will bring up button icons above your players’ heads.
Press the corresponding button for the player you want to run a play through, then choose the appropriate play, or cycle through your options in the same way you had previously.
The plays that are available correspond with what team you are playing as, which makes sense considering it is catered specifically to suit the players on your roster. So no, a Ben Simmons corner 3 would not be the wisest course of action.
Alternatively, if it all feels too overwhelming, you can set your playcalling to auto, which will select the best audible for you to run.
Note that you cannot call plays if you are using a single Joy-Con on the Nintendo Switch, as the controls are much more streamlined.
Calling plays may seem daunting at first, but it really separates the ballers from the Balls, if you catch my drift. If you’re keen on adding more tricks to your NBA 2K20 arsenal, make sure to check out our wiki. Until then, keep on practicing. Banana swirl, dammit! Banana swirl!!
