One build in NBA 2K26 costs around 400,000 - 450,000 VC to max out. That's before you even think about jump shot animations, clothes, your MyTeam, or that dinosaur costume that everyone's wearing in The City.
Monetization is part of the NBA 2K culture, and as such, the game makes it easy for you to throw money whenever you're short on VC, but the truth is that you really don't need to spend a dime if you know what you're doing.
Now, all of these are part of the "grind", but I've listed the best methods to get a lot of VC in the shortest time possible, without spending any money. Let's get into it.
Daily Pick 'Em and Daily Spin
Each time you enter MyCareer, you need to knock these out, every single day. During the NBA season, you can pick out the winning teams for that day's games.
It would take a basketball savant to make perfect guesses, and if you're not following the NBA that much, what I can tell you for the 2026 season is that the OKC, Denver, LA Lakers, and Houston are mostly surefire bets to win any game they're in, since they're the teams that are consistently at the top of the power rankings.
Daily Pick 'Em typically rewards around 500-1000 VC depending on how many games you get right. That said, even if you're terrible at predictions, you still have a 50% of getting it right anyway, and you're still earning free VC.
On the other hand, the Daily Spin can give you some free VC, but since it's a roulette, winning the 100,000 VC jackpot isn't guaranteed. But you can still get some boosters and other items for your MyPlayer.
Daily Challenges
Daily Challenges are one of the easiest ways to get VC in NBA 2K26. These challenges come at random and mostly consist of playing multiplayer games, but others are very simple, like visiting the Limited Edition Store. If you complete all 3 daily challenges, you'll be able to get 1,000 VC on top of the 1,500 you get from completing the challenges.
Lifetime Challenges
Completing Lifetime Challenges will give you a total of around 5 million VC. That's enough to max out 11 builds. However, the catch is that a lot of these challenges take forever to complete, and you'll probably need to play different game modes, complete specific objectives, and grind through various challenges. It's time that you're essentially investing here, but if it can get you through 2-3 character builds, I think that's super worth it.
Endorsements
Your endorsements are another way of getting huge amounts of VC. Simple things, such as gaining more fans, scoring 20 points in a game, or season achievements, like winning the MVP or breaking player records, will reward you with more VC.
GOAT Skills
A lot of people don't know that if you go into MyCareer Quests under the Quests/Challenges tab, and scroll all the way down, you'll find GOAT Skills. These challenges are a goldmine for VC, but also Season-Level XP and exclusive banners.
The best part is that most of these challenges align with what you do in your MyCareer, such as scoring, assisting, getting blocks, steals, or it can be as simple as activating your chosen GOAT skill in a basketball game.
Streak Hunting
If you already have a good build and you're looking to create a new one, then one of the ways to get VC is to break streaks in the Park. Streak hunting is one of the best ways to get VC, but only if you have your own team. What you need to do here is head to the Park and look for courts with large win streaks.
The higher the streak, the more VC you'll get for breaking it. Plus, if you manage to beat the top rep player, you'll get 5x the rep and 5x more VC. That said, it's all the more important that you come in here with your own team. After all, these teams are on winning streaks because they're good.
And there you have it! These are the best ways to earn VC in NBA 2K26 without spending any money in Season 3. The grind is real if you're not willing to part ways with some cash, but it is certainly doable. The smart move is to combine all of these methods rather than relying on just completing one.
Hit your dailies since they're the easiest way to get VC, then work through your endorsements and GOAT skills while you're playing MyCareer. Once you've got a build that can compete with others online, that's the time to take the Park by storm.
Now for the more difficult question: Is grinding for VC fun? Honestly, not always. But what I can tell you is that maxing out a build without spending $100 feels better. And NO. It's not an exaggeration to say that a lot of people spend hundreds of dollars on VC.
Your $20, after all, is only worth 35,000 VC, and once you've invested, it's not too far-fetched to spend another $20 or maybe $50 if that's what gets you to a 99 overall. And then, there's your MyTeam. Are you still willing to spend more? The grind takes time, sure, but I'd rather spend that $100 on something else.
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