Image via 2K Sports

NBA 2K22: How to complete the Return of Heroes Challenges

Get Invincible Joel Embiid into your squad.

As part of Season 7 in NBA 2K22, 2K Sports introduced two new mural challenges. One is strictly made up of players you have to get from packs or buy from the Auction House, but the other Return of Heroes mural can be earned. On June 2, 2K Sports finally dropped the new Challenges into the game, which means you can now earn 15 new players, including 99 OVR Invincible Joel Embiid. Let’s take a look at everything you need to do.

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How to complete the Return of Heroes: Eastern and Western Conference Challenges

You’ll find all of these Challenges under the “Skills Challenge” in the Challenges submenu. Most of these will require you to complete specific objectives during a game, but the first two are a bit simpler (though time-consuming). For both the Eastern and Western Conference Challenges, you’ll need to beat all 15 teams in that Conference, while using specific players and holding the opposing team to fewer than 60 points.

All of these games are on All-Star difficulty, which means the CPU shouldn’t be too tough at this point in the game. The issue is that you’ll need to field a lineup of 10 players from a specific team. If you don’t have 10 solid players from a specific team, that game could be tough.

We’d suggest finding two guys you can consistently hit threes with and having them take up two of the slots you don’t need to fill with the team required by the Challenge. Then, use the current Magic playbook and run the play Quick Point 2. This gives you an easy, open three more often than not, making it easy to run up the score. Then, it’s just about playing good defense.

Related: NBA 2K22 MyTeam: Season 7 Return of Heroes rewards – All levels, items, and more

When you finish the Eastern Conference, you’ll earn 98 OVR Galaxy Opal R.J. Barrett and the Western Conference will give you 98 OVR Galaxy Opal Brandon Ingram.

How to complete Return of Heroes: Challenger Trials

Image via 2K Sports

This set of trials is much more like Spotlight Sims from older 2K games. You’ll need to complete different sets of objectives and earn a new player after finishing each one. Some of these challenges can be very difficult, so we’ll give you the full list and then a few tips for the tougher ones. Here are all the Challenges and the rewards you’ll pick up for completing them.

ChallengeObjective/RequirementReward
BlowoutWin the game by at least 20 points 98 OVR GO Russell Westbrook
Post Up PowerhouseMake 15 shots from the post as a team98 OVR GO Patrick Ewing
How OriginalWin the game with all Original Owner cards99 OVR DM Steve Nash
100Score 100 points with a player98 OVR GO Tyrese Haliburton
No Threes!Win without letting the other team make a three-pointer98 OVR GO Dejounte Murray
The UnderdogsWin using only point guards and record at least 1 block99 OVR DM Bam Adebayo
My Ball!Win without recording an assist99 OVR DM Allen Iverson
Passing PerfectionistWin without turning the ball over99 OVR DM Chris Paul
He Doesn’t Miss!Win the game while attempting only 7 shots as a team98 OVR GO Chris Mullin
No Fouls AllowedWin the game without committing a foul99 OVR Donovan Mitchell
Dunks OnlyWin the game and make at least 11 dunks as a team99 OVR DM Shawn Kemp
MyTeam Heroes ShowdownWin the game using only Sapphires in your lineup98 OVR GO Manute Bol

Most of these challenges are pretty simple because you don’t have lineup restrictions. Plus, outside of the MyTeam Heroes Showdown, every game is on All-Star or lower. That said, a few of these can be tricky, so we’re going to break down a few specific objectives and how to make them a bit easier.

  • No Threes! – For this, you’ll want to pause the game at the start and change your defensive settings. Make sure your AI players are set to stick tight to their man so that you don’t have to worry as much about them sagging off and leaving someone open. Otherwise, just play good defense.
  • The Underdogs – You have to use a PG to get blocks here, which could be tough. However, if you can go pick up someone like Arvydas Sabonis, you can make this relatively simple. Even if you can’t afford that 7-foot monster, you can get Playoff Rewards Spencer Dinwiddie for free. He’s 6’6″ and has an 80 block rating, making him a solid free option.
  • No Fouls Allowed – This one might take a few tries just because fouls are somewhat luck-based. That said, the team you’re playing is pretty terrible, so don’t feel like you need to contest every shot.
  • MyTeam Heroes Showdown – We hope you were playing last season during the Zero Gravity challenge. If so, this challenge should be much easier as most of those Sapphires and below that 2K was giving out daily were boosted to the moon. Otherwise, this challenge might be a struggle. We recommend finding a few players you can shoot with and abusing the Quick Point 2 from the current Magic playbook as much as possible.

Again, some of these challenges are tough. On top of that, ones like the no foul challenge, no assist challenge, and no turnover challenge can feel a little more luck-based than you’d probably like. However, once you finish all of them, you’ll earn the Invincible version of Joel Embiid, which is probably the best power forward currently in the game.


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Author
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Ricky Frech
Ricky Frech is the Associate Editor of Gamepur and has been covering pop culture and sports off and on for eight years. His work has also been published on IGN, FanByte, Bleacher Report, DualShockers, Inside Survivor, and several other publications. When he's not neck-deep in sports games, you'll probably find him playing a board game or rewatching a Survivor season for the 20th time.