Today, I'm joined by Zach Timmerman, Principal Producer on NBA 2K25, as well as Mark Little, MyCareer Developer.

Zach, how are you doing today?

I'm doing well.

Thanks for having me.

Now, there's so much to talk about for NBA 2K25.

This is where fans can live out their hoop dreams and build their legacy like never before.

Before we get into MyCareer, let's talk about the MyPlayer Builder.

When you're building your MyPlayer, you're not just building a legacy this year, you're also building a dynasty for your team.

And we understand this is a very integral moment, a very important decision.

And so we put a lot of time into ensuring that the various paths that we have in the Builder are gonna allow all walks of our gamers to be able to make the player that they wanna make.

The Create Your Own, it's the Builder where you just have so many options, changing your position, changing your size.

You can articulate through every single one of your attributes and get to right where you wanna go with your Builder.

All while you can see the various perks that your player's eventually gonna be equipped with.

Ultimately, it's the Builder where somebody who wants to mess around with the thousands of possibilities can eventually make the Build that they want to.

We also have our pro Build-making veterans that have been playing the game for a long time.

They're probably gonna wanna jump in there as well.

There's also another group that wants to jump in there to try to make a unique Build that nobody else in the world has made.

This sounds really intriguing.

One thing I loved about last year was community members submitting their Builds and you guys implementing them into the game.

Are those returning this year?

The Community Builds feature that we had last year was really exciting.

It was really nice to grab the best Build-makers that we have out there, be able to have them put their Build in the game.

Ultimately, people, when they would grab these Builds, they felt like they could instantly compete and play with the best gamers out there.

They'll be available Season 2.

We'll be dropping new ones each season with the intention of giving you access to the latest and greatest play styles that are out there.

A lot of new features coming with this new Builder system, Zach.

What else can you share about creating your MyPlayer in 2K25?

In each of these Builder paths, there's access to more information than we've ever given you before.

You'll see which Badges you qualify for.

You'll see which Takeovers you qualify for in our new Takeover system.

And you'll also be able to see which animations your player will qualify for.

Ultimately, it's gonna give you a really good feel for whether or not the player's gonna move and react the way that you want to through the animation system.

I love all that, but I especially love the new Takeover system.

Takeover's back in a new way this year.

We have 70 Takeovers and 14 Special Abilities.

In the Builder, you can see which Takeovers you qualify for.

Once you get into MyCareer, you can swap your Takeovers in and out.

They all have attribute requirements that determine whether or not you're able to equip these Takeovers.

Once you get into the game, you're gonna see your Takeover meter.

There's five levels to your Takeover, and it's kind of like five levels of hotness.

Once you hit level five, the Special Ability turns on, and that allows you to kind of dominate the game for a short period of time.

Okay, 70 Takeovers.

What are some of your favorites?

I think the one that I've been gravitating towards the most is Barbecue Chicken.

If you're a hoop head, you know what that name means.

It means you're about to put somebody in the post and turn them into a rag doll.

It boosts throughout the levels of Takeover, boosts your post control, your shot close, and your strength.

And then when the Special Ability turns on, it turns on Deep Post Bag, which essentially allows you to completely dominate the post, again, for a short period of time, in shots, back downs, every post move you can think of.

So it's a lot of fun for somebody who likes to play in the post.

What can you tell us about badges in 2K25?

This year, we have 40 badges.

They're a lot more all-encompassing than they have been in the past.

Each one of them has a larger impact.

And so we're really happy with the badge allotment that we have right now.

We feel like we've hit every part of basketball that's important.

And ultimately, we're accentuating everybody's play style for these badges.

One other thing I want to talk about is badge progression.

Badge progression is basically how often are you using your badge?

The more often you use the badge, the faster it's gonna progress.

Ultimately, though, if you don't use your badge this year, you won't regress, which I'm sure our fans are pretty happy about.

So it sounds like badges are completely reworked this year in 2K25.

Yeah, so this year, we introduced a new level of badge called Legend.

It's a level above Hall of Fame.

It's pretty difficult to get.

You have to raise your attributes pretty high, but ultimately, you know, it really allows you to dominate in that area of the game.

Zach, I'm excited.

Can't wait to get my hands on the Builder.

Thanks for all the new details.

And for all of you, stay connected to the NBA 2K25 courtside report where you can learn all about the new My Player Builder.

Now we know about all the new exciting features in the My Player Builder, but it's time to learn about my career.

I'm joined by Mark Little.

Let's jump right in.

What's new in my career for NBA 2K25?

My career in NBA 2K25 is all about building the greatest dynasty in NBA history.

You're My Player this year, growing up outside of Chicago, and like his idol, Michael Jordan, he wants to build a dynasty that lasts throughout the ages.

You can learn about your My Player's history and his path to the NBA through an optional flashback story called the Heart of the Dynasty, which you get to relive four of his most iconic games in his pre-NBA career, including a high school state championship, a FIBA U-19 World Cup, and even an open run with some NBA players where one of the players is not so happy and he got invited.

And all these games are available for you to play right away.

You can play them at any point in your career, but if you really want to just jump right into your NBA career and start building your dynasty, you can do that too.

So let's talk about creating your own dynasty in my career.

Last year, we introduced the GOAT ranking system.

And in that, you're able to see your My Player rise up through the rankings and ultimately become the GOAT.

This year, we're adding a dynasty rankings, which is more about your team's performance and less about your personal achievements.

So we've ranked the nine greatest dynasties in NBA history.

And as your team does stuff like deep playoff runs, winning championships, you'll see them rise the dynasty rankings until ultimately they get to the number one spot and displace Michael Jordan's Bulls.

Last year, you came in with GOAT level hype.

So what kind of prospect is MP in 2K25?

This year, MP is not a GOAT level hype.

You're going to have to earn your position in the starting lineup.

And if the player in front of you is really good, it's going to be even harder.

This will definitely be one of your first obstacles as you try to build your dynasty.

So it sounds like I got to earn my place in the starting lineup.

What does the flow look like in my career?

Is it key games, every game?

Key games are back this year, and we're really excited about the improvements we've made.

This year, you have a lot of control about which key games you play.

We've divided the season into two halves.

And in each half, you'll meet with your coach and GM and select a personal goal.

The personal goal you pick is what determines the key games you play.

We've even tiered the matchup system.

So if your MP is still at a lower level, you'll match up against lower-level NBA players.

But if you're a 99, you're going to be matched up against the best of the best.

If that's not your thing, you could decide you want to try and win the NBA Cup, or maybe you want to focus on winning road games, or maybe in your rookie season, you want to show that you're the top rookie in your class.

We've even got some key games that are focused entirely about you post-driving other guys.

So the personal goals and key games you get to pick from is completely dependent on the build you made, your team you picked, and your current overall.

So there's a lot of content depending on the scenario and play style you've picked.

And on top of that, if you successfully complete your personal goal and key games, you get an all-new Dynasty badge.

So the Dynasty badges you earn help improve your team and shape the Dynasty you're about to make.

This sounds exciting.

What about other new features in my career that you can talk about?

There's a lot more than I'm going to be able to go into here today, but I'll give you a few more of my favorites.

So earlier I mentioned you can play a FIBA game in the optional flashback story.

Well, you can also play FIBA games in our new revised off-season flow.

You'll be able to play FIBA friendlies, FIBA qualifiers, and even a FIBA tournament that you can invite other NBA stars to join you.

And speaking of NBA stars, this year we're also adding jersey swaps.

So there are optional highlight games on your calendar where you can earn jerseys from players like Jalen Brunson or Victor Wemenyana only if you pass the in-game challenges against their teams.

And you're going to want to collect those jerseys because not only can you wear them around the city, but you can also put them on display in your MyCourt.

You said MyCourt?

MyCourt is returning?

I can't talk too much about MyCourt, but I'm confirming MyCourt is back.

We know MyCourt's been a feature that people have been wanting for a long time, and we're very happy to bring it to 2K25.

All right, MyCourt, exciting stuff.

I can't wait to start building my dynasty in NBA 2K25's MyCareer mode.

Mark, thanks so much for joining us and sharing all this great insight.

Thanks to you, Chris.

And for all of you, stay tuned for more courtside reports on NBA 2K25.