I agree with you on the problem. The fact that every player seems to be a version of
JS 20 JR 12
OD 20 HA 20
DR 20 PA 12
IS 20 ID 12
RB 7 SB 7
With a 2 points in JR, PA, or ID separating PG, SG, and SF is dull. Especially when PF is often this same build with a few points moved from JR and OD moved to ID and SB. It gets worse when players that exceed this tend to do it by pushing DR and HA to 22 or 23 and players that fall short tend to do it by keeping HA and DR at 20 and dropping other skills. I might be overstating it, but if you search for TSP 150+ you’ll see it.
I disagree about the solution, though. Training might contribute, but I don’t think it is the primary driver of the consistent build. The reason I end up building players like this too is the way salary and skill cap works. This build is basically at the point of convergence of PG, SG, SF, and PF salary and cap functions. For the same cost as 2 more PA points I can add two or more points to JS, HA, and DR, and basically more IS and ID to my PG. I don’t think we’ll see managers choose builds with different skill ratios until the salary and cap calculations change. The players below all have basically the same salary at 135k.
JS 20 JR 12
OD 20 HA 20
DR 20 PA 12
IS 12 ID 12
RB 5 SB 5
JS 20 JR 12
OD 20 HA 20
DR 20 PA 12
IS 20 ID 12
RB 5 SB 5
JS 16 JR 12
OD 20 HA 16
DR 16 PA 16
IS 12 ID 12
RB 5 SB 5
PA trains pretty fast and the out of position effort is higher of the IS on a PG or SG, but we see a lot more of the first two. Not every skill point is as valuable for performance, but it’s hard to trade 4 points of PA for 4 each in JS, HA, and DR, and the fact that 8 points of IS are basically free… breaking up 1v1 for forwards might move things around a little, but making training more flexible without changing the salary structure seems likely to mostly change the path to the same basic build.
Last edited by bmore at 1/12/2025 7:45:07 AM