How to get started with MyTeam in NBA 2K20

NBA 2K20 brings back the popular MyTeam mode with a few key changes.

If you are thinking about diving into the competitive area of NBA 2K20’s MyTeam mode, then you are going to want to go in with a plan. And no, just wanting to use the base cards to play online is not a solid way to grind for currency.

MyTeam is an ever-evolving game within the game, one that doesn’t sit still and always forces players to adapt to new cards. Since 2K20 just launched and a few pre-release glitches were patched out, this is an even playing field for now. So here are some tips on how to spend your time in the early parts of the mode.

How to get started with MyTeam in NBA 2K20

Know your preference

You know what team and players you like, but what about your play style? Do you prefer shooting threes or playing in the post? Are you going to run screens on the ball for shooters or focus on rolling as the big man? These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you start building your MyTeam roster.

If you like the perimeter game, you should focus on trying to get players like Ray Allen, someone who has an amazing shot but can also play well in other aspects of the game too. But that comes at a cost early on in MyTeam, that being a tradeoff.

You won’t have enough resources to spend on every position, and unless you get lucky during pulls, you will probably be stuck with at least one player that is below average on the court. That isn’t a bad thing, every player has a strength, but you should spend your time building to your strengths early, and not try to build an overall solid roster – that will put you smack into a mediocre team.

In that regard, you should also try to unlock the Auction House early, that way you can sell the cards you don’t like and use those resources to invest into ones you can use to get better.

Hold your currency, but sell cards

Don’t even think about being a collector early on. None of those collector rewards are going to be even close to obtainable if your team is bad, and you can’t compete with better players to earn more VC and MT. Ignore the voice that is telling you to keep that 79 overall DeAndre Jordan when you have an 80 overall Marc Gasol starting already. You can always get DJ later, but the currency is valuable to you now.

Likewise, don’t just sell cards to buy packs for the sake of opening them. If you have a decent lineup and want to try for a good pull, go for it. But otherwise, you should save that currency and build up to buying cards individually. That way, you know what you are getting and can plan your future team around those players.

If you like how Kemba Walker plays, hold your money to get him and start trying to find supplementary players in the meantime. That Marc Gasol card sure does make a good pick and roll option for Kemba, so sell DJ, and you are on your way. It is almost a guarantee you will end up getting a duplicate while pulling from packs later anyways.

Contracts and Equipment

This is pretty self-explanatory, but 2K has contracts for every player card you get. Once a player uses up all of their contracts, they need to get more before you can add them back to your roster. This is an annoyance, but not too hard to get around.

If you end up opening a lot of packs, you are bound to have spares lying around, but if you don’t, make sure to have a secondary lineup ready. Even if you end up selling some of your decent players to help fund your starting lineup, always make sure you have a secondary team in the wings ready in case of emergencies.

And much like how contracts work, there are pieces of equipment like shoes, wristbands, and other things like that players can wear to get bonuses in attributes and occasional boosts to their badges. This is an easy way to make a bad player slightly better in times of need.

You don’t need to play like everyone else

The fastest thing you will learn while playing MyTeam against other players online is that most people only care about winning at any cost. They will abuse the system, only use players who can shoot threes, and actively try to wear down your spirit with each game you lose. 2K19 was an awful time for newcomers because of an exploit that allowed outstanding players to bench their best cards and then be registered as low-level beginners. Then once the game started, they would bust out Galaxy Opal Michael Jordan and have a field day abusing the starter decks.

It doesn’t look like things are that bad again in 2K20, but still, play the way you want to. If you want to win, study the best ways to optimize your play and go from there. Otherwise, find how you like to play and enjoy yourself.

Once you unlock the Auction House, there isn’t anything making you play the online modes. You can play the curated single-player challenges and have fun grinding and playing that way. You still get to collect cards and build your team, but without all the annoyance of playing the tryhard cheesers. And remember, overall rankings for cards aren’t everything.