The new NBA 2K18 game comes out in September and player ratings have come out. After an MVP season, Russell Westbrook should have a high rating.
Russell Westbrook is a superstar for the Oklahoma City Thunder and he just so happened to have won the MVP award this past season too. So what should his rating be?
We can use last year as a measuring stick. Westbrook had a 93 rating last year and that was before the season he had. So this year, he deserves something in the ballpark of a 97 because LeBron James, who is well known to be the best player in league, has that rating. Westbrook was the best player this season, and that should grant him a 97.
Westbrook showed that he was the complete player. He put up double digits in rebounds and assists along with averaging 30 points a game for the season. It all totaled up to averaging a triple-double for the season. Westbrook should be a straight up beast in this game, at least for this year.
The Thunder have more weapons along with Westbrook this year, so you should be able to compete against teams like the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs when facing them in the game. Paul George‘s 91 rating should complement whatever Westbrook’s rating will be.
Westbrook should be a mini-LeBron kind of player because he has proven he’s able to do anything on the offensive side of the court. He struggles on defense, but he also has skills on that side of the ball, like his ability to steal the rock, which will help him still be effective.
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Sports Illustrated thinks that since Westbrook won the MVP over James Harden, then he should have a higher rating, which is true. Westbrook has earned the right to have a higher rating than Harden because of the season he had. Westbrook showed that he is a one-man destructive force.
Giving Westbrook that 97 rating would mean that he is on the level of LeBron, but also what it would mean would be that he has a better rating than Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant won the Finals MVP award last year. He also had a great playoff run which led him to winning his first ring, which Westbrook does not have.
Although that is true, the ratings don’t go by team accolades. It goes by complex science that makes things feel realistic. It will be up to the 2K programmers whether they think, realistically, that Westbrook is better than Durant right now.
Next: Predicting the Thunder's all-time starting 5 in NBA 2K18
Russell Westbrook was a one-man wrecking crew last year and his 2K rating should reflect that. He should be rated as high as the top four players in the league, which are LeBron (97), Durant (96), Kahwi Leonard (95), and Stephen Curry (94). These five players, including Westbrook, are the best players in the league right now and the ratings should reflect that.