The patch says Bam, SGA, and Wembanyama were updated — but their visible bars didn't move. Did they get hidden buffs, and do identical bars hide different real values?
How to test: Take a 'stated-updated, no-visible-change' player into the shootaround/practice and compare their range, first step, steal speed, or block reach against a known reference (or their pre-patch feel). For same-bar pairs, put both players side by side and compare the same action. Log relative, repeatable results — we don't invent exact numbers.
The June 25 patch listed a batch of players as “attribute updated,” but never said what changed. Only four show a visible 1–5 bar move — Cade Cunningham, Trae Young, El Gigante, and Jalen Brunson (full breakdown).
Everyone else the patch named came back with identical bars. That’s the open question this thread exists to answer.
What we’re testing
NBA The Run shows ratings as coarse 1–5 bars, so a buff can move a player’s real, hidden value without flipping a bar. So a “no visible change” result isn’t proof that nothing happened — it’s a prompt to test.
Players the patch said it updated, but whose bars didn’t move:
- Bam Adebayo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama — listed under “attribute updates based on player feedback.”
- DJ (Destiny Jackson) — listed as “improved,” plus a faster jumpshot start-up (a timing change the bars wouldn’t show anyway).
- Shen Tong, $pin Cycle, Bobbito — the Street Legends, “improved to make them more viable.”
The question for each: does the player actually feel different post-patch — and if so, how?
The deeper question: do identical bars hide different values?
There’s already community evidence that the bars are buckets. Players testing in the shootaround report that both Kevin Durants show the same 5-bar 3-point rating, yet the current KD’s green-to-yellow range stretches noticeably further than KD ’07’s. If that holds up, every bar is hiding a more granular real value — which is the whole reason a “stated-updated” player can change without their bar moving. The range-dot Lab page digs into exactly this, including the community make-rate test behind those color bands.
We will never invent exact numbers (the devs have said there’s no datamined 0–100 scale). But consistent, repeatable in-game comparisons can establish the relative ordering the bars hide — and that’s how this moves from Testing to Confirmed.
How to help
- Take one of the players above into the shootaround or a practice run.
- Compare a specific, observable thing — 3-point green range, first-step burst, steal speed, block/contest reach — against a reference player or your memory of pre-patch.
- For same-bar pairs (both KDs, two 3-bar shooters, etc.), put them side by side and compare the same action — for shooting range, use the court-landmark method so readings are comparable.
- Drop what you found in the findings below: name the player(s), the test, and the result.
Evidence Locker
Sign in to contribute- No findings yet — run a test and post what you see.
Frequently asked
Q. Did Bam, SGA, and Wembanyama actually get buffed in the June 25 patch?
The patch notes list them as 'attribute updated based on player feedback,' but when we re-read every player's post-patch player-select card, their visible 1–5 bars came back identical to launch. That doesn't rule out a buff — NBA The Run's bars are coarse buckets, so a real change can happen without flipping a bar. Whether they actually feel different is exactly what this Lab thread is testing.
Q. Do two players with the same bar have the same rating?
Not necessarily. Community shootaround tests suggest the bar is a bucket and the real value is more granular — for example, both Kevin Durants show the same 5-bar 3-point rating, yet the current KD's green-to-yellow range reportedly stretches noticeably further than KD '07's. We don't have exact numbers (the devs say none are datamined), but consistent in-game comparisons can establish the ordering the bars hide.