Teams Join Fans to Flame NBA 2K After Bizarre Mid-Range Ratings: “Simply Inexcusable to Not Have Shai as #1”

Every offseason, NBA 2K release the player attribute ratings first before slowly revealing the Top 100 players ahead of every game release.

Teams Join Fans to Flame NBA 2K After Bizarre Mid-Range Ratings: “Simply Inexcusable to Not Have Shai as #1”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kawhi Leonard's NBA 2K mid-range ratings upsets fans (Image via FirstSportz)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Every offseason, professional basketball players typically rest or work on their game before the next campaign begins. Many fans, on the other hand, wait to see how NBA 2K, the league’s official video game, ranks players based on their previous season exploits.

2K has been steadily updating the game over the past few years, and fans are hoping that this season, the realism is a lot better than the last one. One aspect that helps bring realism is the way they scan and model players.

Most players usually get accurate scans, and over the past few editions, the developers have introduced their signature moves. Those features go a long way to excite fans, especially as no two players will have similar moves.

To help accentuate those moves, the rating system of NBA 2K differentiates the skill level of those players. For instance, a player with a stupendous signature mid-range shot also needs a high mid-range rating to execute it.

Speaking of ratings, NBA 2K has released the ratings for the top 10 players with the best mid-range. Nikola Jokic topped the charts with 98, a rating he shared with Kyrie Irving.

Behind them were Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Other mid-range stalwarts, Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan, follow in 7th and 8th spots.

The ratings of these players are all within 1 or 2 points of each other, which does not necessarily mean one or the other is drastically better than the other. However, fans were still not happy.

Fans take exception to NBA 2K’s mid-range ratings

Basketball fans believe the mid-range rankings posted by NBA 2K are incorrect. Over the past season, they have witnessed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander use his mid-range game to win the league MVP award.

Then some, including the Los Angeles Clippers, felt that the game ranking other players over mid-range savant Kawhi Leonard in the Top 10 was baffling. In the 2K25 edition, his mid-range was rated 88.

Others questioned how DeMar DeRozan, someone who has built his legacy based on his mid-range game, could be ranked below Stephen Curry. Examples of these questions can be found below:

2K games usually update player ratings as the season progresses. But most of them are based on the initial ratings, as they usually never waver beyond a couple of points. Major changes come only in the instance of injury or roster changes.

But ratings more or less stay the same unless a player’s skills decline over the season. Again, those are rare instances, which is probably why fans were so upset with these new ratings.

Similar opinions develop after NBA 2K releases 3-point shooting Top 10

The mid-range Top 10 had a lot of questionable ratings, but it was not the only controversial post from NBA 2K. They also released the Top 10 3-point shooters and their ratings.

Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant
Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant (Image via NBA/X)

Even though this ranking was not as controversial as the mid-range one, fans still had some opinions to share. No one had a problem with Stephen Curry’s 99 rating.

But some of those fans had a problem with the ratings awarded to other players. Anthony Edwards, for instance, was rated 87 in 3-point shooting. Some felt it was a bit low, considering he elevated his shooting last season.

Then there were some who believe Karl-Anthony Towns and Malik Beasley should have been on the list. There were other similar opinions, which goes to show that fans are never truly happy when NBA 2K releases their ratings.

These are still early days, as fan voices are loudest when the game releases its Top 100 players. Expect fireworks, especially if some rankings turn out to be too controversial for fans to accept.

Also Read: