In the lead up to the full release of the latest installment of the NBA 2K series, on September 29, the game developer has been leaking ratings for players across the league. One of the signals that the preseason is coming to an end, the ratings are the most interesting NBA-related discussion to be had outside of FIBA. The topic-starved writer of this article decided to explore some of the ratings that momentarily broke the NBA internet.
In the world where up is down and left is right, the Lakers and Knicks have become regulars in the group of teams that file into the lottery. But there are other teams that fall somewhere between just missing/making the playoffs, like Oklahoma City and New Orleans, and the very depths of the league like the Timberwolves and 76ers.
Video games are really one of the least consequential activities on the entire planet, unless you are one of the really talented people who play fighting games in packed hotel ballrooms for the right to have your martial arts-equipped fox character be a certain color. If that is you, you probably make more money playing video games than I do sitting in an office during all daylight hours Monday through Friday every week. The rest of us probably adjust the difficulty slider down a notch or two (or three) and create the NBA team and dynasty of our dreams – free from players leaving for the big money, overriding trade rejections and the utter bliss of knowing Derrick Rose will never hurt his knee again!
But the games are also cruel. They can take forever to play. Honestly, one minute quarters would not be very fulfilling and your MyCareer player winning MVP for averaging 5.8 points-per-game would be awful. The salary cap is just as unforgiving to your dynasty as it is to the Brooklyn Nets in reality. And your favorite player, whether superstar or first-round draft pick, can be subject to ratings to which you wholly object and can do little to change.
Our editors would probably start bleeding from the eyes and brain if they had to sort through 3,500 words on this subject, so let’s just skip ahead to some of the highs and lows of the teams at the bottom of the league.
Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves – Rating: 80
Yes! Wiggins and the Wolves are going to be League Pass heaven this year. A very young team, chocked full of talent and personality that might not improve drastically over last season’s win total, but hopefully moves a few steps forward. And Wiggins isn’t alone; Karl-Anthony Towns was given a generous 78 as a rookie.
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves – Rating: 77
Looking at numbers objectively doesn’t really tell the whole story of a player, but Rubio is only a 77?! With some of the best handles in the entire league, a pass-first guard with vision, skill and flair would be worth a little more in my book. He’ll be an assist machine in my dynasty, feeding Wiggins all the best passes.
Dante Exum, Utah Jazz – Rating: 73
Sadly, video games are the only place you’ll find Exum on the court this season. And his rating leaves me feeling perplexed. Exum has a lot of upside, but after his rookie season, much of the mystery remained as he failed to truly emerge. Is 73 too low, too high or just right? No idea.
Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic – Rating: 80
Like Wiggins, putting Oladipo into the 80s from the start is a big win. The young guard is poised to take his game up a notch in reality, and his game rating follows suit. The Magic, along with Minnesota and Milwaukee, are one of the few young teams on this game that it could be overly addictive to run through dynasty mode. Vucevic is also up there (83) and Tobias Harris (79) isn’t far behind.
Langston Galloway, New York Knicks – Rating: 72
I’m bullish on Galloway’s real world upside and 2K does not agree. Sure, you could build up his rating in the game, but given how low he is rated, you could be three to five years in before he approaches the 80s. It isn’t just Galloway; the rest of the Knicks squad is at or below 75 with the exception of Carmelo Anthony. They seem to be fair on Kristaps Porzingis, rating him a 74, which is the same rating they gave to Willie Cauley-Stein. That feels consistent, somehow.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks – Rating: 79
The Greek Freak is getting his stats up. The lanky young Buck is the second-highest rated player on the Milwaukee squad.
Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks – Rating: 77
This rating isn’t as harsh as it could have been. Parker missed a year of developing on court due to his ACL tear last season, but as a player evaluated as equal to Wiggins coming into the league, I might have bumped him up a point or two.
Monta Ellis, Indiana Pacers – Rating: 81
This rating seems to be a bit of an outlier when weighed against players with similar scores. For reference, Draymond Green is rated 81, Ty Lawson is rated 81, Kemba Walker is rated 81, and Brandon Jennings is rated 80. I guess the real point here is that Green is rated much too low, because all of those other players seem to belong in the same grouping.
Jared Sullinger, Boston Celtics – Rating: 77
No. Perhaps my evaluations are wrong, but Sullinger is not ahead of David Lee (76), Jae Crowder (76), and probably not ahead of Tyler Zeller (76). Then again, they did rate Evan Turner at 74, which is probably too high.
Matthew Dellavedova, Cleveland Cavaliers – Rating: 70
The urban legend of Dellavedova continues to grow after the 2015 NBA Finals. The description of Delly’s shot form being similar to that of a person jumping out of a birthday cake will never leave my mind. And we don’t even need to get started on how Tristan Thompson’s athletic ability to provide help defense is what truly created momentary containment of the Golden State backcourt…
Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets
Only two teams in the game that had no players rated 80 or higher. This seems very accurate. Basically, these are the MLS teams of FIFA for NBA 2K16.
Jordan Clarkson, Los Angeles Lakers – Rating: 75
Clarkson was a surprise emergence last season for the Lakers. This year, he is rated at the same level as Tony Wroten and Jeremy Lin. Clarkson should be a cut above those players. Maybe 2K should have rated those players lower or Clarkson higher, but not the same. Additionally, D’Angelo Russell was rated 77. After the year that Clarkson had, he should get the benefit of the doubt heading into this season, ahead of the rookie Russell. Russell is probably rated correctly, so putting them both on the same rating and giving Russell a much higher ceiling would be a nuance worth having in the game.
The game drops next week from 2K Sports. If you’re like me, you’ll probably kill some time getting excited for the new season by helping your favorite team win a title by the time training camp gets into full swing for the actual 2015-16 NBA season. There are some really exciting lottery squads to explore including Minnesota, Milwaukee, Orlando, and the Los Angeles Lakers. And no, 2K didn’t pay for this plug, though I wouldn’t mind it if they wanted to hook me up with a free copy of the game.
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