Chapter 04
Pokéjam Defense
Defense in Pokéjam is three separate jobs: make the shot harder, take the ball away, and end the possession with a rebound. The game publishes enough numbers behind each one that you can stop guessing.
The four tools
| Tool | Effect | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Contest | floor of 35% | Standing close and jumping into the shot. The game caps how much a contest can take away, so a smothered shot is still a live attempt. |
| Steal | 3% to 38% | A swipe with a cooldown. The odds come from the defender's rating against the handler's, and a shooter is far harder to strip. |
| Shove | up to 95% | Contact that can put a player on the floor for about a second. Type matchups are the multiplier, and it works both ways. |
| Block | possession + bar | Meeting the ball in flight. A block turns the shot over and fills a third of your special bar. |
Contest geometry
A contest is not a button press, it is a position. Any defender within seven feet of the shooter contributes, and the closer they are the more they take away. Two modifiers matter:
- Facing. A defender behind or beside the shooter contributes less than one squared up in front — the game checks the angle between the defender and the basket.
- Jumping. A defender who is airborne at the release contests 40% harder than one standing on the floor. Jumping is the button, and the timing is the skill.
The result is capped: a contest can never reduce a shot below 35% of its original chance. That cap is why mashing contest on every possession is not a strategy — you can make a shot difficult, but you cannot make it impossible.
Height is inside the formula too, which is the mechanical reason a tall lineup defends better than its perimeter ratings suggest.
Steal odds
A steal attempt is resolved from the two relevant ratings:
odds = clamp(0.10 + (defense - handles)/220, 0.03, 0.38)
An even matchup is 10%. A great defender against a poor handler climbs toward 38%; the ceiling is there so that steals never become a coin flip. While the handler is shooting or laying the ball up the odds are cut to 40% of that value, so swiping at a shooter is close to pointless.
There is a cooldown between attempts. Spamming the key is actively bad: a missed swipe takes your defender out of the play for a moment, which is exactly what the offence wants. Swipe when the handler turns their back or crosses over into you, not on the perimeter.
Shoves and the type chart
A shove is the physical version of a steal. It pushes the handler off balance and, if it lands, puts them on the floor for about a second — long enough for the ball to become loose. The success roll is multiplied by the type matchup between the two Pokémon.
This is the only place in the game where types decide an outcome directly. A Water big man shoving a Fire wing wins that exchange almost every time; the same big man against a Grass guard does not. The full chart lists every pairing, and 144 of the 291 players carry a second type that changes the answer.
Shoving is also how you punish a mismatch. If the opponent has a small guard defending your power forward, do not shoot over him — shove him and take the loose ball.
Blocks and rim protection
A block is a contested shot that never leaves the shooter's hand: the ball is knocked loose, the possession turns over, and the blocker gets a third of a special bar. Dunks can be blocked too, by a defender who jumps into the flight path.
The roster has 18 Rim Protectors (power forwards and centres with blocking at 90 or better), 7 Lockdown Defenders on the wing and 10 Glass Cleaners who specialise in ending possessions rather than preventing them. A lineup with one of the first group changes what the other team is allowed to attempt.
The rebound is the point
A defensive rebound resets the shot clock to a full 24 seconds. An offensive rebound gives the other team at least 14 more — enough for one more action.
So the cheapest defensive improvement available to most teams is not a better stopper, it is a better rebounder. Two extra defensive rebounds a quarter is two extra possessions, and no defensive rating produces that.
- Box out before you leak out. A fast break that starts with an offensive rebound for the other team is a net loss.
- Size matters more than the rating here. Rebounding and blocking are the two heaviest weights in a centre's overall for a reason.
- Switch deliberately. Manual switching lets you keep your best defender on their best scorer; automatic switching is faster but hands the matchup to the game.