In recent years, the NBA has made a concerted effort to shift its focus away from the paint and toward the three-point line. However, if there is not a strong presence in the paint, it is much more difficult to make shots from the perimeter because defenders are free to stick with the player they are guarding. Being skilled in the area directly in front of the basket is still extremely important in basketball, despite the fact that shots don't originate there as frequently as they once did.

Because NBA 2K23 does a good job of replicating this mantra, it's a good idea to give your post presence a boost by earning finishing badges whenever possible. The defensive and rebounding, playmaking, and shooting badges are the other three classes, and these badges are one of the four classes. A different facet of the game is discussed in detail by each class. The finishing badges take care of everything that takes place in the paint, including dunks, layups, contact, and everything else.

You might be under the impression that you don't require any finishing badges in NBA 2K23 if you are a good shooter who is allergic to driving the ball. You can rest assured that every drive to the basket will be littered with frustration if you do not have proper finishing badge support. However, if you are truly glued to the three-point line, you can ignore this warning.

As is our custom, we will endeavor to make our guide as adaptable as possible by providing a variety of options for varying heights and positions. To begin, let's get you familiar with finishing badges and what they do in NBA 2K23 so that you can start earning them.

Every single finishing badge for NBA 2K23
Layup attempts that involve a spin, hop step, euro-step, cradle, reverse, or change receive an enhancement when you have the Acrobat talent. In addition, the capability of defeating defenders using gathers has been significantly improved.

Aerial Wizard improves a player's ability to successfully complete an alley-oop pass from a teammate or a putback finish off of an offensive rebound.

Backdown Punisher is an ability that, when equipped, grants players an increased chance of success when posting up while backing down a defender.

A player's ability to initiate contact and get closer to the rim when attempting layups is improved by the Bully ability.

Dream Shake gives a higher chance of stunning an opponent after a fake move has already been performed. Additionally, there is an increase in the shot percentage for attempts at shots made after fakes, shimmies, and shot fakes.

Dropstepper is a piece of equipment that improves the player's chances of success when attempting post drop steps and hop steps, as well as the player's ability to better protect the ball while executing these moves in the post.

The Fast Twitch ability increases the player's speed, allowing them to make standing layups or dunks faster than the defense can contest them.

Fearless Finisher is a passive ability that, when activated, increases a player's ability to finish off their opponent despite taking damage. Additionally cuts down on the amount of energy that is lost during contact layups.

Giant Slayer is an ability that, when activated, increases the shot percentage of a layup attempt when the player is mismatched against a taller defender and decreases the likelihood that the shot will be blocked.

The player who possesses this badge will begin their dunk attempt from a greater distance than other players when they are attempting to attack the basket.

A player's ability to finish plays effectively around the rim, particularly against defenders of a smaller size, is improved by using a masher.

Posterizer improves your team's chances of dunking on an opposing defender by making it harder for them to block your shot.

Post Spin Technician Trying to do post spins or drives results in more effective moves and a reduced risk of being stripped. This move is performed by a Post Spin Technician.

The Pro Touch ability grants an additional shot boost to the player if their shot timing on layups is either slightly early, slightly late, or excellent. Layup timing absolutely needs to be activated.

Increases the chances of dunking or posterizing your opponent when they are standing in the painted area and you use the ability Rise Up.

Increases a player's ability to slide through traffic, prevent the ball from being stolen, and avoid contact during gathers and finishes at the rim. Slithery can also be used to protect the ball from being stolen.

The utility of the majority of other badges can be broken down into three distinct positions and playstyles, namely guard, wing, or big man; however, the utility of finishing badges can really only be broken down into two playstyles. You're either a killer or a big man. There's no middle ground. There are a couple of badges that are related to height, and because of this, it will matter whether you are a short guard or a tall wing. However, these distinctions are largely irrelevant for the majority of badges.

The most effective finishing badges for slashers in NBA 2K23
There are two distinct builds that we would recommend for you to use depending on the priority that you place on slashing: one is for dunkers, and the other is for players who put more emphasis on finesse. We'll begin with dunkers because we expect the majority of players who spend a significant amount of time and effort finishing badges in NBA 2K23 to be dunkers.

The three most important finishing badges for a dunking slasher are as follows:

Posterizer

Takeoff Without Boundaries

Unconquerable Concluder

Both Posterizer and Limitless Takeoff require no explanation; they extend the range of your dunk and make it much more difficult for your opponent to block it. The addition of Fearless Finisher is the icing on the cake, and it will lead to the creation of so many posters that even Vinsanity would be impressed.

This is the best finishing badge setup for you to use if you are not always looking to dunk the ball and would rather go for a layup instead:

Although the Acrobat Bully Slithery Fearless Finisher is a strong option due to its ability to assist with layups, we believe that the three mentioned above are the best choices.

Both Bully and Slithery are excellent choices for ensuring that you reach the basket without interruption. You will be given additional tools to avoid defenders at the rim in addition to having a boost to the all-important gather step if you use the acrobat ability. This combination of badges is hard to beat in competition.

Giant Slayer is something that we would like to bring to the attention of the miniature guards. It is a surprisingly effective badge that may prevent you from experiencing some embarrassment at the block. Giant Slayer could replace Bully in the top three if you are using a small guard, which would make this option more appealing.

The best finishing badges available for big men in NBA 2K23
The ideal big man build in NBA 2K23 is an athletic pick-and-roll player with a deft touch around the rim. We don't want to completely discount bigs who can move well in the post or back down the court, but the truth is that this is the build. Fortunately, we have just the finishing badges to complement that playstyle, and they are as follows:

Aerial Wizard Pro Touch Masher for Fast Twitch Aerials
If you've read any of our other guides, you might be surprised to learn that Aerial Wizard is included in this one. Technically speaking, it is a situational badge, and in most cases, we disregard those. Alley-oops are not that situational if you have the tools to perform them, and they can easily net you double-digit points per game. The thing to keep in mind is that alley-oops are not that situational if you have the tools to perform them. Not to mention the fact that it works well for putbacks as well.

The combination of Fast Twitch and Pro Touch is as complementary as bread and butter. Come to a hasty and successful conclusion; there is nothing more to say. Last but not least, the Masher perk is a bonus for exceptionally tall builds. You will have a height advantage over the majority of defenders if you are 7 feet and 3 inches tall. This means that Masher will be effective the majority of the time, which is one of the features that we appreciate the most in a badge.