NBA 2K13 Signature Skills -- Confirmed Additions vs Speculated Additions

[Mos1ted]

One of the additions in NBA 2K13 I'm most excited about is Signature Skills. We saw these in All Pro Football 2K8, and we always felt they were needed in NBA 2K. So far, as of this posting (dated 8/16/12), there are 17 confirmed Signature Skills:

• Floor General - A player with this skill improves the teams offensive awareness and executes plays quicker
• Brick Wall - A player with this skill lays the smack down during picks
• Dead Eyes - A player with this skill isn't affected as much when shooting the J with a hand in his face
• Lockdown Defender/Defensive Specialist - A player with this skill can get around "Brick Walls" with ease while also staying with their man off the dribble
• Chase Down Block - A player with this skill is particularly skilled at catching up to block shots from behind
• Corner Specialist - A player with this skill can down the corner three consistently
• Alley Ooper - I saw this mentioned briefly in the Game Informer article. It didn't really elaborate on what it does exactly, but I'm assuming a player with this skill is a better finisher at receiving alley oops.
• Spot Up Shooter - I'm assuming a player with this skill is can knock down spot up jumpers consistently. Unlike the Corner Specialist, this would affect shots from different areas on the court.
• Ankle Breaker - I guess as the name implies, this skill gives players the ability to pull off ankle-breaking crossovers more effectively.
• Pick Pocketer - This player is skilled at getting on-ball steals
• Anchor (Defensive) - I haven't seen any clarification on what this skill does exactly, but as the name suggests, this player is the defensive anchor for his team. I read articles stating that one of the defensive skills helps influence the defensive play of teammates, and I'm wondering if this is that particular skill
• Hustle - This player gives maximum effort when on the court whether it's diving for loose balls, getting back into transition, pushing the break, etc.
• Clutch - This player's performance is at its peak during the closing moments and in crunch time when his team needs him most
• Closer/Finisher - Similar to Clutch, this player is the go-to guy when a team needs to close out games such as scoring buckets to gain or secure the lead.
• Streaky Shooter - This player can score quickly in spurts by getting in the zone a la Reggie Miller
• Sharp Shooter - This player is deadly accurate from anywhere on the court
• Strength - This player has superior strength making it more difficult to back him down in the post or keep him from making another player down in the post
  
  

It was announced that around 28 Signature Skills will be included in the game. It has not been confirmed yet whether players will gain or lose these skills as their careers progress and regress.

OS family, what are some other Signature Skills who think or hope will be in NBA 2K13?

For me, I would love to see a Signature Skill that addresses veteran leadership, making veteran players with lower attributes -- like a Juwan Howard, for example -- still valuable in some way. By having a player with this skill on the roster, it would improve his teammates' ability to progress towards their full potential, particularly the younger players. Maybe they could have it position specific where only players who play the same position as the player with the skill will be affected. You see it all the time in the real NBA where players are signed just to mentor a rookie who plays the same position and will be getting the bulk of playing time.

Another Signature Skill I would love to see included is one for flashy passers like a Ricky Rubio or Magic Johnson (assuming legends will continue to be in the game). This wouldn't be for players to make flashy passes just because they can; instead, it would make players with this ability more effective at pulling off flashy passes in situations where a flashy pass is more appropriate than a generic pass.


NOTE -- One thing to note is that these signature skills aren't simply ratings or tendency boosts. What they are designed to do is a make a player more effective in situations where these skills would come into play. Also, I feel these skills are being implemented to help players understand the nuances of an individual player without needing to thumb through pages of attributes and to change the way the AI uses these players.

[Eman5805]

No way they have a Sig Skill called Brick Wall for setting picks of all thigns and not have a "Flashy Passer" thing.

I wonder what determines who has skills like that? Is it tied to tendencies or some third, compiled level of attributes?

[TheBadazz]

Maybe Clutch Performer. That would separate Super Stars from all stars and get rid of the clutch factor. Hopefully Sig Skills can be added or taken away, as the player career progresses.

[Mos1ted]

Quote: Originally Posted by Eman5805

No way they have a Sig Skill called Brick Wall for setting picks of all thigns and not have a "Flashy Passer" thing. I wonder what determines who has skills like that? Is it tied to tendencies or some third, compiled level of attributes?

Who knows at this point. It might be like in APF 2K8 where players with particular signature attributes were able to perform or trigger certain animations that other players couldn't.

[Goffs]

I want a flopper skill where you barely touch a guy and he ends up on the floor!

[Mos1ted]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheBadazz

Maybe Clutch Performer. That would separate Super Stars from all stars and get rid of the clutch factor. Hopefully Sig Skills can be added or taken away, as the player career progresses.

That's a good one, and I'm hoping they can be added and taken away as players progress and regress as well.

[Mos1ted]

Quote: Originally Posted by Goffs

I want a flopper skill where you barely touch a guy and he ends up on the floor!

Hahaha! Yes!

[Manbearpig]

In the GamesRadar article they mentioned a skill called Lockdown Defender using Andre Iggy as an example btw