NBA 2K23's version of MyTeam can get expensive quickly. If you're trying to keep up with the Joneses and have all of the top-rated players, you'll likely need to spend quite a bit of real-world cash or get ludicrously lucky. Luckily, if you know where to look you can actually find quite a few players who will do nearly as well as those expensive players without spending money. Below, we've collected some of our favorite budget players as of September 12.
Related: How to earn VC fast in NBA 2K23
The idea of budget players means different things to different people. For our purposes, we're only looking at players that you can get for under 10,000 MT. If even that's too much for you, we'll also list a few free options that you can earn through gameplay for each position. You can also take a look at the Token Rewards players to see if any of them fit your needs. Let's take a look at the best budget players in MyTeam.
Our favorite budget option at this position is Season One Chauncey Billups. He has the Speed needed to run the point and effectively pick-and-roll and his shot is good enough that you can consistently hit with him from deep. The only other option is Season One Mark Jackson, but you're really just using him for his Duo with Rik Smits to boost the big man's stats.
For free options, we really love Starter Ja Morant. Make sure to get his Shooting Evo if you want to get the most out of him as a facilitator. If you want to hop into Domination, you can pick up Terry Rozier III. Scary Terry has one of the smoothest jumpers in the game so far, making him a great option to bring off the bench when you need some points in a hurry. Finally, the Steve Kerr you get from the Season Pass is a decent game manager who can fill in for Ja in a pinch.
This position pretty much starts and ends with Season One Select Robert Reid. At 6'8?, Reid is a monster at the position, easily locking down the opposing team's best perimeter player. He can also finish at the rim, making him a good pick-and-roll player. The only other player we'd really consider is Season One Desmond Mason whose slashing ability is nothing to scoff at.
If you want a free option, you can, of course, look to Starter Jimmy Butler. He's an inch shorter than Reid, but also plays solid defense. If you pre-ordered, you also likely have either Devin Booker or Michael Jordan, which are both fine options for the position. Finally, the Fred Jones you get for playing 10 games isn't a bad slasher at either SG or SF.
At SF, we have two players who both have smooth jumpers, making them great options to kick to out of a drive. They are Volume One Kelly Tripucka and Volume One Kiki Vandeweghe. We prefer Vandeweghe ever so slightly because his shot is a bit easier for us to green, but both make great options. Vandeweghe also has a bit of height on Tripucka and can flex to PF, which is always a bonus in 2K.
For free players, you could use either Butler or Jones here as well as SG. Otherwise, your options are limited unless you got a pre-order bundle pack that included Xavier McDaniel. You could use Toni Kukoc from the Season Pass, but we like him much better at PF.
There are several good options at PF, but Limitless Scottie Barnes is our choice. You can also flex him down to SF, but we love his speed in the paint on defense and the ease at which he plays as the roll man on offense. We've also had some success with Season One Paul Millsap, but he's definitely a downgrade. If you're having trouble getting rebounds, Season One Dennis Rodman is also worth a look.
As far as free options go, you're probably looking at players from the Season Pass. Both Tonic Kukoc and Bill Cartwright play decently at the position. Kukoc is more of a stretch four while Cartwright is just a massive body. He might be slow and have the weirdest free throw animation in the game, but he finishes well around the rim and clogs the paint on defense.
Season One Rik Smits is the obvious choice here at this stage of the game. At 7'4?, he towers over opponents and is an offline force. We also like Season One Dino Radja because he does a bit of extra speed, but he doesn't have his usual massive 2K wingspan for whatever reason with this release. If you can stretch your MT just a bit, Limitless Pau Gasol gives you a player who can step out and hit some jumpers while still being a solid option in the middle.
For free options, you can obviously go with Stater Joel Embiid. We like Embiid's speed on both sides of the ball, especially when you pick up his Athletic Evo. Otherwise, you can grab Collector Reward Shaquille O'Neal by collecting 30 player cards. Sure, he's just a big body, but that's enough at this point. Your last option is Jakob Poeltl from Domination Rewards. Again, he's not much to write home about, but he can finish and play defense. That's all you really need for now.
We will keep this guide updated throughout the season as new players are added to NBA 2K23 MyTeam.