Creating builds in NBA 2K26 is tougher than it seems, and sometimes you'll be just one or two attribute points away from a Badge that'll really help on the court. If you need a small boost, you can get Cap Breakers to push your player past their limits in NBA 2K26.

Cap Breakers allow you to raise your player's attribute points above their projected maximum that you chose when creating your build at the start of your career. There are only a limited number of Cap Breakers available and it's a long grind to get them — but they're life savers for certain builds. Here's how you can get every Cap Breaker in NBA 2K26.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in NBA 2K26
NBA 2K26 Locker Codes (October 2025)

Grab all the latest Locker Codes for NBA 2K26 to get your hands on free items and boosts for your teams and players.

1
By 

NBA 2K26 Cap Breaker Chart

LeBron James of the LA Lakers in NBA 2K26

There are 28 free Cap Breakers that you can earn in NBA 2K26. They're earned by reaching Rep milestones, earning Season XP, completing challenges, and more. Here's an overview of every Cap Breaker in NBA 2K26.

Source

Requirement

Cap Breakers

Rep

Reach Rookie V.

+1

Rep

Reach Starter III.

+1

Rep

Reach Starter V.

+3

Rep

Reach Veteran II.

+3

Rep

Reach Legend I.

+3

Crew

Reach Crew level 8.

+1

Crew

Reach Crew level 15.

+1

Crew

Reach Crew level 22.

+1

Crew

Reach Crew level 30.

+1

Lifetime Challenges

Complete 100 Lifetime Challenges.

+1

Lifetime Challenges

Complete 200 Lifetime Challenges.

+1

Build Specialization

Complete Goal 6.

+1

Build Specialization

Complete Goal 8.

+1

Season Level

Reach Season Level 40.

+1

11 Cap Breakers come from Rep rewards. You'll get a Cap Breaker when you hit Rookie V and Starter III. At Starter V, you'll receive three additional Cap Breakers, followed by three more at Veteran II and Legend I.

Lifetime Challenges and Build Specializations are the next best source of Cap Breakers in NBA 2K26. You'll get a Cap Breaker when you reach 100 and 200 Lifetime Challenges completed. You'll also get Cap Breakers for completing Goal 6 and Goal 8 on your Build Specialization list.

You can also get four Cap Breakers from playing with a Crew. You'll get a Cap Breaker when you hit Crew level 8, 15, 22, and 30. Finally, there's a Cap Breaker available every season for hitting level 40. If you max out your Season level every time, you'll end up with nine seasonal Cap Breakers by the time next year's game rolls around.

How to Apply Cap Breakers in NBA 2K26

NBA 2K26 - All Attributes Explained

Once you've unlocked a Cap Breaker in NBA 2K26, you can apply it by navigating to the attributes page and pressing R3. This will let you use your Cap Breaker on the attribute of your choosing (unless it's a specific Cap Breaker from a Build Specialization Goal). You have to raise an attribute as high as it can go before you can apply a Cap Breaker, however.

You can only use a Cap Breaker on a single attribute five times, and Cap Breakers are permanent for your MyPLAYER's save file. Once you unlock a Cap Breaker on a build, however, it'll become universally available to any other builds you create in the future so you don't have to grind them out again.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
NBA 2K26 Tag Page Cover Art
Display card tags widget Display card system widget
Systems
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
September 5, 2025
ESRB
Everyone / In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
Developer(s)
Visual Concepts
Publisher(s)
2K
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start
Carmelo Anthony in NBA 2K26
Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info