Quick answer
The best big man GOAT Build in NBA 2K27 for most players is Anthony Davis. He's free on day one of Season 2, has the highest overall average of the five bigs (79.2 across all 21 attributes, 5th of all 18 GOAT Builds), reaches the most badges (41 at 99 OVR) and is the only big who can block (94), finish (95 Standing Dunk) and still shoot a usable 75 mid-range and 70 three before Cap Breakers. The other four are specialists: Dwight Howard is the free paint and glass pick (99 Standing Dunk, 94 on both boards), Dirk Nowitzki is the stretch big (99 Mid-Range, 96 Three-Point, the best Shooting group of all 18 builds), Hakeem Olajuwon is the post scorer and rim protector (99 Post Control, 99 Interior Defense, 95 Block), and Wilt Chamberlain is the biggest body (7'1", 275 lbs, 8'0" wingspan) behind the longest unlock. This applies to Season 2 on Patch 2.0, ratings checked October 27, 2026.
Which big man GOAT Builds are in NBA 2K27?
There are 18 GOAT Builds in Season 2, and five of them are bigs: two power forwards and three centers. 2K's Season 2 announcement put two of them on the day-one list: "GOAT Builds available at release include Klay Thompson, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and more. Players can earn even more GOAT Builds through REP and Lifetime Challenges" (2K Newsroom, October 14, 2026).
| GOAT Build | Position | Height / Weight / Wingspan | Build name | How to unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Davis | PF | 6'10" / 253 lbs / 7'2" | AD | Available immediately |
| Dwight Howard | C | 6'11" / 265 lbs / 7'5" | D12 | Available immediately |
| Dirk Nowitzki | PF | 7'1" / 245 lbs / 7'4" | Dirk | Season 2 rewards track, Level 33 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | C | 7'0" / 255 lbs / 7'3" | The Dream | REP Elite V |
| Wilt Chamberlain | C | 7'1" / 275 lbs / 8'0" | The Big Dipper | 350 Lifetime Challenges |
Unlock routes come from 2K's Season 2 Courtside Report as listed by NBA2KLab and goatbuilds.wiki. Bodies and ratings are from NBA2KLab's GOAT Builds database, which matches goatbuilds.wiki. Two things to know before you pick. AD is listed as a PF, but his body and defense let him play the 5. And GOAT Builds are fixed: 2K says "the animations and stats are locked to preserve each player's authentic feel, while keeping full access to Badges, Cap Breakers, and more." You can't move points around after you create one, so compare the numbers before you spend VC. For the full set of 18, see our NBA 2K27 GOAT Builds guide.
How do the big man GOAT Builds compare on ratings?
These are base ratings at 99 OVR with no Cap Breakers spent. The best mark among the five in each row is in bold.
| Attribute | AD | Dwight | Dirk | Hakeem | Wilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close Shot | 90 | 88 | 99 | 96 | 99 |
| Standing Dunk | 95 | 99 | 70 | 90 | 95 |
| Post Control | 87 | 85 | 99 | 99 | 95 |
| Mid-Range Shot | 75 | 25 | 99 | 91 | 70 |
| Three-Point Shot | 70 | 25 | 96 | 40 | 25 |
| Pass Accuracy | 65 | 30 | 80 | 60 | 50 |
| Ball Handle | 70 | 45 | 60 | 60 | 25 |
| Interior Defense | 93 | 94 | 82 | 99 | 90 |
| Perimeter Defense | 65 | 40 | 45 | 60 | 50 |
| Block | 94 | 94 | 80 | 95 | 94 |
| Offensive Rebound | 80 | 94 | 83 | 88 | 94 |
| Defensive Rebound | 89 | 94 | 92 | 91 | 95 |
| Strength | 85 | 94 | 83 | 85 | 95 |
| Speed | 78 | 80 | 60 | 65 | 70 |
| Vertical | 83 | 90 | 72 | 75 | 79 |
| Average (all 21) | 79.2 | 69.8 | 75.7 | 76.4 | 71.2 |
A few numbers decide most arguments. Hakeem's 95 Block and 99 Interior Defense are the highest of all 18 GOAT Builds. Dirk's 99 Mid-Range is the highest of all 18, and his 96 three is third behind Ray Allen and Klay Thompson. Wilt and Dwight share the top Offensive Rebound (94). On the other end, Dwight's 69.8 average is the lowest of the 18 and Wilt's 71.2 is 16th, because both are close to useless away from the rim: 25 three, and Wilt's 25 Ball Handle and 25 Speed With Ball are the lowest of any build.
Grouped by category, the split is cleaner. AD has no category below 68. Dwight and Wilt both average 94 on the glass but 33 to 52 on shooting. Dirk's Shooting group averages 97, the best of all 18 builds, and his Physicals (65) are the weakest of the bigs. Hakeem's Defense group (81) is 3rd of the 18, behind only Kirilenko and LeBron.
Is Anthony Davis the best big man GOAT Build?
For an all-round big, yes. NBA2KLab's card sums him up as a "Defensive nightmare. Erases shots at the rim. Lethal pick-and-roll dive partner with unmatchable catch radius and finishing." He reaches 41 badges at 99 OVR, the most of any big, including Hall of Fame Aerial Wizard, High-Flying Denier and Off-Ball Pest, with Gold Paint Prodigy, Rise Up, Paint Patroller and Post Lockdown behind them.
What separates him is range plus mobility. A 75 mid-range and 70 three are low for a shooter but high for a big, and Cap Breakers lift them to 86 and 84. His 78 Speed and 83 Vertical are second among the five behind Dwight. He also keeps his own jumper (Anthony Davis base and both uppers, Normal release) and gets Pro, Pro Bigman and Elite Bigman contact dunks.
The catch: only 3 of his badges reach Hall of Fame, the fewest of the bigs. He's very good at a lot of things rather than elite at one. One player in an r/NBA2k thread this week put it simply: "I messed around with an AD build for a season and the animations alone make it worth it. It's like he's got magnets in his hands on defense."
Should you pick Dwight Howard for a free paint big?
Pick Dwight if you want a rim-runner who rebounds and dunks and never shoots. His 99 Standing Dunk is the highest of all 18 builds, 94 Strength and both rebounds put him with Wilt at the top of the glass, and his 80 Speed and 90 Vertical make him the most athletic of the five. NBA2KLab lists 28 badges at 99 OVR, 7 of them Hall of Fame, including Aerial Wizard, Rise Up, High-Flying Denier, Post Lockdown and Pogo Stick.
The ceiling is low everywhere else: 25 mid-range, 25 three and 30 Pass Accuracy (the lowest of the 18). Cap Breakers help more than on most builds, taking his three to 75 and mid-range to 64, but that's a lot of breakers to make him passable. Our Dwight Howard GOAT Build guide has his full attribute sheet and Cap Breaker plan.
Is Dirk worth grinding to Level 33 as a stretch big?
Yes, if you play the 4 or 5 in a lineup that needs spacing. His builder card calls him "Unmatchable shooting gravity. Backs down defenders, operates out of triple-threat, and pulls up over any contest." He has 11 Hall of Fame badges at 99 OVR, the most of the five bigs: Deadeye, Post Fade Phenom, Quick Trigger, Smooth Operator and Static Middy on the shooting side, Float Game, Ghost Stepper, Hook Specialist, Paint Prodigy and Post Spin Catalyst inside, plus Sync Snatcher on the boards. He also has his own Dirk Nowitzki jumper at a Quick release, per NBA2KLab.
The weakness is everything on the move. 60 Speed, 45 Agility and 45 Perimeter Defense are low, and Cap Breakers barely help: Speed tops out at 64 and Agility at 52. His 80 Block and 82 Interior Defense are the lowest of the bigs. In the r/NBA2k "best big man" thread, the top reply said "Prolly Dirk as a 5 in a zone defense works best rn," which matches the numbers: hide him in a zone, let him score. He unlocks at Level 33 on the free Season 2 rewards track (see our Season 2 reward track guide).
Is Hakeem better than Dwight and Wilt at center?
On paper, Hakeem is the most complete center. His 76.4 average is the best of the three centers (9th of 18). He pairs the top Block and Interior Defense in the game with 99 Post Control, 96 Close Shot and a 91 mid-range that no other center comes near. At 99 OVR he reaches 34 badges per NBA2KLab, 8 at Hall of Fame: Float Game, Ghost Stepper, Hook Specialist, Paint Prodigy, Post Spin Catalyst, Post Fade Phenom, Off-Ball Pest and Sync Snatcher.
His jumper isn't his own: goatbuilds.wiki lists a Nikola Vucevic base with DeMarcus Cousins uppers at a Normal release. His three starts at 40, but Cap Breakers take it to 81, which is the biggest single gain on his sheet. The real cost is the unlock: REP Elite V, a lighter grind than Wilt's 350 Lifetime Challenges but still a real one. Our REP guide covers the fastest routes.
Is Wilt Chamberlain worth 350 Lifetime Challenges?
Only if you're already close to 350. Wilt has the biggest body of all 18 builds (7'1", 275 lbs, 8'0" wingspan), 99 Close Shot, 95 Strength and the best Defensive Rebound in the game (95). His Finishing and Rebounding groups (90 and 94.5) are the highest of the 18. He reaches 32 badges at 99 OVR with 8 Hall of Fame, including Post Powerhouse, Sync Snatcher and Work Horse.
But compared with Dwight, the free center with the same job, he doesn't do anything new. Wilt finishes better in the post (99 Close Shot vs 88, 95 Post Control vs 85); Dwight is faster, jumps higher and has a better standing dunk. Wilt's 25 Ball Handle, 25 Speed With Ball and 33 Playmaking average are the lowest of all 18. And 350 Lifetime Challenges is the longest unlock in the set: the challenges are account-wide and don't reset by season, and Anthony Edwards unlocks at 300 on the way. See our Lifetime Challenges guide for the fastest sections to clear.
Which big man GOAT Build has the best badges?
It depends on whether you value range or peaks. AD reaches the most badges (41) but the fewest at Hall of Fame (3). Dirk has the most Hall of Fame badges (11) but only 4 playmaking badges and nothing above Silver on defense. Hakeem and Wilt sit in the middle with 8 HOF each, almost all of it inside and on the glass. Dwight has the fewest overall (28), with no shooting badges at all.
These counts are what each build's 99 OVR ratings qualify for under the normal 2K27 badge requirements. 2K hasn't published per-build badge tiers, so they come from community databases: NBA2KLab's figures are used here, and goatbuilds.wiki is one lower on Hakeem (33) and Wilt (31). You still choose which badges to equip, and Cap Breakers can push some tiers higher.
Where should big man GOAT Builds spend Cap Breakers?
Every GOAT Build has its own Cap Breaker ceilings, set by its height, weight and wingspan. Attributes already above their normal cap take none. These are the biggest jumps available to each big with all slots filled, per NBA2KLab and goatbuilds.wiki:
| GOAT Build | Biggest Cap Breaker gains (base → max) |
|---|---|
| Anthony Davis | Pass Accuracy 65 → 78, Three-Point 70 → 84, Perimeter Defense 65 → 80, Steal 60 → 80, Free Throw 75 → 94 |
| Dwight Howard | Three-Point 25 → 75, Mid-Range 25 → 64, Free Throw 50 → 84, Pass Accuracy 30 → 57, Perimeter Defense 40 → 70 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | Driving Dunk 55 → 77, Perimeter Defense 45 → 64, Pass Accuracy 80 → 87, Agility 45 → 52, Speed 60 → 64 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | Three-Point 40 → 81, Pass Accuracy 60 → 79, Free Throw 75 → 92, Speed With Ball 45 → 57 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Three-Point 25 → 67, Free Throw 60 → 88, Ball Handle 25 → 51, Pass Accuracy 50 → 74 |
The pattern for bigs: the first breakers on a weak attribute give the most points, then the steps shrink. Wilt's first breaker into Three-Point is worth +14 and his fourth only +6. For the three centers, Free Throw is one of the cheapest big gains: +17 to +34 points across the slots. For the general rules, see where to put Cap Breakers.
Which big man GOAT Build should you pick?
- You want one build that does everything well, today: Anthony Davis.
- You want to rebound, set screens and dunk, today: Dwight Howard.
- You play the 4 or 5 and want to be the best shooter on the floor: Dirk, at Level 33 of the Season 2 track.
- You want to score in the post and protect the rim, and you'll grind REP: Hakeem.
- You're already deep into Lifetime Challenges: Wilt is a bigger, stronger Dwight with better post touch.
If none of them fit, a custom big still has full control over its attributes. Our best center build and best power forward build guides cover the builder route. As with every MyPLAYER, a GOAT Build still needs VC to go from its starting overall to 99. 2K hasn't published a separate VC cost for GOAT Builds; community trackers put it at roughly the same as a normal build, so treat that as an estimate.
FAQ
What is the best big man GOAT Build in NBA 2K27? Anthony Davis for most players. He's free on day one, has the best overall average of the five bigs (79.2) and reaches 41 badges. Hakeem is the best pure center on paper, but he needs REP Elite V.
Which big man GOAT Builds are free? Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard are available immediately in Season 2. Dirk unlocks at Level 33 of the Season 2 rewards track, Hakeem at REP Elite V and Wilt at 350 Lifetime Challenges.
Is Anthony Davis a center GOAT Build? He's listed as a power forward, but at 6'10" with a 7'2" wingspan, 94 Block and 93 Interior Defense, he can play center. The three listed centers are Dwight Howard, Hakeem Olajuwon and Wilt Chamberlain.
Which big man GOAT Build can shoot threes? Dirk, by a long way: 96 Three-Point and 99 Mid-Range at 99 OVR. AD starts at 70 and can reach 84 with Cap Breakers. Hakeem can reach 81 from 40, but it takes a lot of breakers.
Is Wilt better than Dwight? Wilt is bigger and a better post scorer (99 Close Shot, 95 Post Control); Dwight is faster, jumps higher and has the 99 Standing Dunk. On the glass they're almost even. Dwight is free and Wilt needs 350 Lifetime Challenges.
Will more big man GOAT Builds come in Season 3? 2K hasn't announced any Season 3 GOAT Builds yet. NBA2KLab says 2K plans to add more each season, but no names have been confirmed, so treat any Kareem, KG or Wembanyama GOAT Build talk as speculation.
More NBA 2K27 Season 2 guides: all 18 GOAT Builds and how each one unlocks, the Dwight Howard GOAT Build in full, and how many Cap Breakers you can earn this season.
