Yes, NBA 2K is only a video game. Why would a professional athlete care about what a game rates them as? Well, put yourselves in their shoes for a second.
Imagine you are a good basketball player in the league and you are working hard to consistently improve. Then somebody tells you that you are a 65 overall rated player out of 99. That would be quite demoralizing. Still, that ca even be used as motivation from some players to get that “precious” NBA rating higher.
While the NBA 2K values are not always correct, they do provide a pretty solid scouting report for a player’s abilities. Thus, players tend to pay attention to them and often have strong feelings on the matter.
One other reason why players may be curious is that many of them have been playing the video game since their childhood. They dreamt of getting their own 2K rating someday and now that they have it their interest is perked.
Let’s take a look at how some of the stars around the league reacted to their NBA 2K22 ratings.
Checking Out the Ratings
Boston Celtics forward Jayston Tatum was asked what he thought his rating would be in a recent interview to which he replied, “I think you got to set the base at 92. It’s a 95 by the end of the year.”
When told his actual overall was a 90 in the game, Tatum looked genuinely shocked.
Kevin Durant proclaimed that he believed he should be a 99 in the game, but he was rated only a 96. Although, a 96 was the highest rating given out this season. Even when LeBron James saw Durant’s rating, he simply stated, “Nah, should be a 99.”
LeBron also disagreed with Steph Curry’s 96 rating and said that he believes Curry should be a 99 as well.
One unexplainable rating was the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic dropping from a 96 to a 95 after winning the NBA MVP last season. He set statistical career highs in points, rebounds, and assists per game last season and showed incredible improvement. We might need to ask the 2K creators what happened in regards to Jokic’s rating.
Atlanta Hawks star point guard sent out a Tweet in response to his 89 overall rating.
Christian Wood of the Houston Rockets believes that he is underrated with his 83 mark.
“They sleeping on me,” Wood declared.
As you can see, NBA players care about the ratings whether they play the game or not. It is a testament to how much work they put in. It can be a confidence boost when a young player sees a substantial rise in his overall number.
In the end, a video game rating does not define a player, but it is entertaining to see how players react to their ratings. And as you already understand, we can get quite a funny store out of that.
NBA 2K22 releases today and is available on all platforms including; PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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