Build your own play style.

Offense: -Do something and do it fast. (obviously right aha?) -take putbacks/dunks sometimes sometimes, 1 point is better than none. (If you have 18 points, don't kill yourself over the 3. You can easily just get the 3 the next possession and end the game.) -There is a pretty consistent-ish halfcourt shot that I use a lot. It requires shooting a running 3 about a step in from the half court line. (A lot of 4 shooting stat players can ABUSE this strat if they're open e.g. Derrick Coleman) (video: https://www.twitch.tv/lordhkge/clip/HedonisticFragileOxStrawBeary-D4W_6ZJLKZAJSIKB ) -If you have 18 points, don't kill yourself over the 3. You can easily just get the 3 the next possession and end the game. -As long as your foot is on the line when you jump, it's a 3 pointer. -You might wanna make a habit of following your shots in an attempt to get the rebound just in case you miss

Defense: -The number one rule here is to keep the ball MOVING (don't let the AI sit around dancing, walking or repeatedly rebounding) -If you go for steals, don't use turbo. -It is possible to steal by standing in passing lane and hitting steal/block at the right moment, however I've only done it successfully once by accident. -Be mindful of if you're defending an inside or outside team/player so you know if you should go for steals. Inside teams have tendencies to stand around and dribble the ball which can kill your time in the long run. -Learning consistent trick countering could be a difference maker. I've noticed that off the inbound the computer sticks to the sideline and if you can cut them off they'll almost always do a trick. -Turbo blocking is the way to go, if you don't have turbo and you block the AI is very likely to get the rebound and kill more time. -Get completely out of the AI's way to try to force them to shoot the ball earlier. -There is a steal strat that requires doubling, and then attempting to steal from the ball hand. -I've seen some people block from behind which can give you more forward position if you manage to grab the rebound off the backboard. -There's a steal strat I found on a forum that goes like this: Stand about 2 feet from the ball handler and wait for him to do a trick, jump at him where the trick will end. -The proximity and height of your defender are key factors in whether a shot is a miss or not. -If we're all using the same offense strats it might be wise to develop your defensive skills and/or thought process to make a good time. I took time to learn trick countering which helped immensely.

Teams:(the moment you've been waiting for) Honestly, everybody uses the Mavericks but my runs with the 76ers opened my eyes to the possibilities of sub 2 using another team.

Mavericks: The safest option. 3 max shooting stat players, and a 7 foot shot blocker in Dirk; however Dirk is surprisingly not as consistent as the other two shooters of this team. my thing about this team is if dirk isn't a consistent shooter even though his shot is maxed, why use them? In my opinion you might be better off with a center that perhaps has 4 shooting with maybe higher blocks or rebounds..

76ers: I used this team and in my second run achieved 2:13:01 (better than some of the times with Mavericks and Lakers) All 3 players can shoot, Coleman can ABUSE the half court shot strat at moments, Iverson can get steals effortlessly at moments, Coleman and Van Horn have better rebounding than Dirk and Finley, but this team has it moments where it matches up poorly.

Bulls: I found that with this team you can abuse the half court shot strat to the max if done right (I played a game where I think I only missed twice), but if you're missing, this team could cost you a lot of time.

Lakers: For obvious reasons, but I never used this team because I could never shoot consistently with Derek Fisher.

Warriors: 3 6'6 and taller players all with 4 shooting stat. (however this team has poor stealing)

Kings: C-Web has max dunks, power, & rebounds. Bibby has 4 shot but 4 steals. Peja is 6'10 with a max shot.

Timberwolves: Garnett has 4 Blocks & 5 Rebounding and was reported in Street 1 to not be that bad of a shooter even with a 3 shooting rating. Brandon has 4 shooting with maxed steals and handles, and Szczerbiak has max shooting

Hawks: Theo has max blocks, 4 Rebounds and he's 6'10, Shareef and Terry have 4 and 5 Shots respectively. Also I should note Shareef has max rebounding and is 6'9

Other Teams That Might be Worth a Run: Cavs, Rockets, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Magic, Trailblazers, Supersonics, Wizards

Strats On Teams: Here I've compiled some strats for teams that are likely to give you trouble or just kill your time.

[Northwest] Trailblazers: This time is likely to punish you defensively for reasons unknown. They're just a very sound team defensively so be mindful in how you want to approach this game. Kings: Be prepared for Webber to make his presence felt both protecting the rim and crashing the boards. Jazz: Stockton will trick his ass off if you're too close, and is pretty good at stealing the ball.

[Central] Pistons: Be prepared for Ben Wallace to punish you every chance he gets so try to stay away from him and keep the ball out of his hands! He will burn up your time. Timberwolves: Kevin Garnett will BURN your time by making things tough on both ends. Central Legends: Stay away to get them to force up a shot, getting to close to larry will result in 2 or 3 tricks in succession easily.

[Southwest] (Strongest Competition) Rockets: Steve Francis and Yao Ming will put up a fight. Here is where you might not wanna contest every dunk from Yao Ming to avoid getting dunked on and wasting your time. Lakers: Neutralize Shaq by any means. Shooting over Kobe while he has good defensive position will likely result in a miss. Spurs:...- I wish you the best of luck here. Trying to shooting over the twin towers can easily result in a block. Southwest Legends: If you're not careful here Dominique will punish on you on both ends.

[Northeast] Nets: Jason Kidd is a bit of a ball hog and will dribble his ass off if you're too close. If you wanna risk time and go for steals or trick counters be mindful of how many attempts you're giving it. Raptors: Honestly, Vince Carter is another one of those people that will cause trouble on both ends at every chance he gets. 76ers: Iverson is likely to rip you in those tiny windows similar to how Stockton does so avoid leaving your ball hand open for intrusion. North East Legends (In my opinion, the toughest game): the duo of Russell and Wilt.

[Southeast] (I've noticed in this region repetitively missing becomes VERY prominent in the last couple of games. I'm not sure if the AI becomes smarter/better here but there's definitely a difference.) Hawks: Thinking this game will be a breeze can be a costly mistake. Terry has the Kidd complex and Ratliff will punish you down low on the offensive end. Southeast Legends: They will literally EAT your time away by dribbling, making defensive plays, and being a bother every chance they get. They even managed to get a gamebreaker on me and it cost me a lot of time.

Extras: Be fast in your menuing but keep in mind a mistake like choosing the wrong name, players, or team will be costly. I picked the wrong name in my 2:13:01 run with 76ers and it probably cost me 30 seconds

Half Court Shooting Test/Proof: For the following test I went into a pick-up game vs NBA Stars with any team that had 3 players of the 3 different shooting stats tested. I shot 20 half court shots with each player (regular defensive contest from AI) and averaged out the number of made 3s in that test.

SSP=Shooting Stat Player

Kings 3 SSP (CWEB): 11/20 = 55% 4 SSP (BIBBY): 14/20 = 70% 5 SSP (PEJA): 12/20 = 60%

Hawks: 3 SSP (THEO): 10/20 = 50% 4 SSP (RAHIM): 14/20 = 70% 5 SSP (TERRY): 12/20 = 60%

Celtics: 3 SSP (BAKER): 8/20 = 40% 4 SSP (WALKER): 13/20 = 65% 5 SSP (PIERCE): 16/20 = 80% (I have no idea what pierce had going on here haha)

Hornets: 3 SSP (MAGLOIRE): 4/20 = 20% 4 SSP (DAVIS): 15/20 = 75% 5 SSP (MASHBURN): 11/20 = 55%

Timberwolves: 3 SSP (KG): 7/20 = 35% 4 SSP (BRANDON): 13/20 = 65% 5 SSP (SZCZ): 13/20 = 65%

Averages: 3 SSP: 8/20 = 40% 4 SSP: 13.8/20 = 69% 5 SSP: 12.8/20 = 64%

As you can see 4SSP have about a 70% chance of making these half court shots, it's your choice on if you wanna try to abuse the strat or use to make up for lost time.

Here's a video of me abusing the technique in a separate pick-up:

Final Notes: Shout out Myzlstyx, & notfirstnoel for giving me direction for making this guide.

gonna keep going for the record with these strats but more so focused on showing people that you can use other teams to diversify the leaderboard.

happy running tho guys.