NBA 2K22 players call for SBMM to fix “unfair” matchmaking

Bill Cooney
NBA 2K22 SBMM

NBA 2K players are calling on devs to implement a skills-based matchmaking system to fix the game’s “unfair” way of pairing up multiplayer matches.

As the only basketball game in town, 2K is where you go if you want to square off on the hardwood online. That being said though, you might have a tough time actually finding a fair match.

2K’s confusing matchmaking system has been a meme in the community forever, and now players are calling for SBMM to finally be added.

“All they want is money”

There’s no shortage of posts on the 2K subreddit or 2K Twitter lamenting the blatantly unfair matchups the game deals out for online play. In the comments of a recent post, one user explained 2K doesn’t care about fairness, only making a buck.

“It’s very simple. 2K wants you to buy VC [Virtual Currency],” one player claimed. “They don’t give a single f**k if there’s unfair matchmaking because they’re the only basketball game out there, and all they want is money.”

Another 2K fan said that the matchmaking is simply split between teams over a certain rating, and below the cutoff as well.

“It’s super arbitrary and not structured at all,” they explained. “You have >

player slamdunking in nba 2k22
Matchmaking has been an issue in the 2K series for years.

Interestingly enough though, this has led to some players building a 92 rated squad just to boost their winrate, with others claiming that it’s actually lower rated teams that offer the most competition.

“People who get full 92 ovr squads just to boost their win%,” another 2K player added. “And I ain’t even lying when I say this, somebody once told me that low rec is where the “real comp” is at.”

While its doubtful we’ll see SBMM implemented at this point in 2K22, that’s not to say we won’t see it in future titles. However, as fans pointed out 2K is really the only basketball game in town, so without major competition, substantial change like this might be hard to come by.