NBA 2k Player Ratings: I’ve owned 2K15 since it’s initial release and have combed through some player’s ratings both past and present, and I’ve noticed some serious issues with some of them. I’ve accidentally gained access to some players I shouldn’t have and had a peek at their ratings, one of which I took particularly big issue with. I’ll save that one for last. I’ll start with players that are available to everyone so you can see for yourself which ratings need to be addressed.
Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard is one of the best rebounders in the league, and was done pretty dirty in this particular statistic. I want to compare him to Kevin Love who has quite overrated rebounding stats. Dwight Howard averaged 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and has an offensive rebound rating of 85. Kevin Love averaged 1.1 offensive rebounds per game and has an offensive rebound rating of 95. What sense does that make? Kevin Love averaged 8.7 defensive rebounds per game last season and has a defensive rebound rating in 2K of 99. Dwight was trailing just slightly behind with 8.4 defensive rebounds per game yet his defensive rebound rating in 2K is only a 90. Whoever it is that does the ratings either is really lazy and doesn’t pay attention to statistics, or is just completely biased.
’86-’87 Magic Johnson’s NBA 2k Player Ratings
This one will be short and sweet as it’s pretty self explanatory. Magic Johnson has a 98 on-ball defensive IQ rating and lateral quickness rating of 90 which puts him defensively above multiple time NBA all-defensive team candidate, LeBron James. No knowledgable basketball fan would ever agree that Magic Johnson was a better defender than LeBron James, especially considering Magic Johnson never once made an all-NBA defensive team. Why bother using elite defensive players like Gary Payton at PG when you can have the overrated 6’9″ equivalent with far superior scoring and passing ratings? Smells like bias in this particular NBA 2k player rating.
’95-’96 Michael Jordan
This one bugs me. This version of MJ has a 90 rated standing three-pointer rating. Like we needed MJ to be any more overpowered than he already was, now he can drain 3s. Many factors should have been considered when doing this rating.
#1. Jordan has always been a notoriously bad three point shooter. It’s not a coincidence that he suddenly spiked when the three point line shortened.
#2. As I just said, the three point line shortened. He wasn’t as good a three shooter as his stats suggest, because once the line got extended back out his 3P% took a huge dip. The max rating for this stat should have been an 82-83. 90 is just unwarranted and stupid. Think of the gameplay.
LeBron James
This is going to surprise people, but I feel like LeBron was a tad underrated while also being overrated in some aspects. LeBron has an 87 standing three-pointer which is about equal with Carmelo Anthony. Melo is a far superior outside shooter to LeBron, no questions. This rating needs to be decreased slightly. His on-ball defense IQ is a 94, which I feel is warranted but if Magic Johnson can get a 98 rating in this attribute then LeBron should get a 99. Increase or decrease the other. LeBron’s lateral quickness is only an 88 which I feel is too low. Somewhere in the low to mid 90s would have been a more suitable place to have it. That just about covers it.
Russell Westbrook
Come on, 2K. You’ve got one of the most explosive high-flyers in the game and you’re only going to give him an 82 dunk rating? Westbrook is well known for flying through traffic and stuffing it. This rating deserved a 90 at the least. He’s not usable in the way he plays in real life due to this underrated rating.
And now for one none of you have seen yet, but due to some accidental glitch, I have. I got to see the ratings of some of the unreleased throwback players, and one really bugged me.
’61-’62 Wilt Chamberlain
I could rant about this for a lot longer, but I’ll keep it fairly brief. This version of Wilt is only a 96 overall. Are you kidding me? This was the single most dominant season in the history of the NBA and you’re only giving him a 96? Well upon further examination of the stats, it’s because he’s severely underrated. I’ll start with some of the stats that are extremely ridiculous. Wilt has a 97 stamina rating, despite averaging over 48 minutes per game. Kevin Durant got a 99 stamina rating and he only played 38 minutes per game. This is either sheer laziness or having little to no knowledge about Wilt’s career. Secondly, his speed was only rated 50 in this years NBA 2K player rankings. This is one of the fastest big men of all-time, who was a track and field superstar but you’re gonna leave his speed at 50? Come on, man. Wilt’s post fadeaway was somewhere in the low 60s, below the positional average, yet the post fadeaway was one of Wilt’s signature moves. One of the highest leapers in the history of the NBA despite being over 7 feet tall, but his vertical was in the low 70s. Wilt was known for his elite caliber shot blocking, but his block rating is only a 94. How does someone like Ibaka and Anthony Davis get a 99 block, but not one of the greatest shot blockers in the history of the NBA? Any YouTube clip will tell you that Wilt was a much scarier defensive presence under the rim than Serge Ibaka. Do you know anything about Wilt, or did you just copy and paste the Lakers Wilt and adjust a few stats? Seriously, appropriately rate the most dominant player in NBA history especially in their most dominant season.
I just thought I’d add one more…
’05’-06 Dirk Nowitzki
You gave him a 98 post hook and a 77 post fade. Anybody who knows the slightest thing about Dirk knows what’s wrong here. That’s laziness.
To sum it up, whoever did the NBA 2K Player Ratings for 2015 needs to take a good look at some statistics because they’re not doing their job properly. Stay dialed in to SGO for my latest player reviews and 2K commentary.
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