NBA: Examining the NBA 2K20 ratings release

Reputation exceeds performance

No ratings system is perfect, and 2K is no exception. Some skill sets are (apparently) valued higher than others, leading to some players being rated higher than many fans think they should be. These are some of the most overrated players in NBA 2K20.

Rudy Gobert – 88 Overall

Rudy Gobert is a very good basketball player. He was just named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and has been a driving force in getting the Utah Jazz into the playoffs in an extremely difficult conference.

Does that mean he’s worthy of being the 19th best player in 2K? That is up for debate.

Outside of his defensive prowess and his ability to hunt the defensive glass, Gobert doesn’t offer much in the way of elite skills. While he scores at a decent enough clip, pouring in 15.9 points per game on extremely high efficiency, his offense only exists within 3 feet of the basket.

He has also been prone to being played off the floor in playoff series when teams are able to expose his inability to create offense outside of the paint.

While the rating feels high for Gobert, it doesn’t feel totally out of touch. The Frenchman led the league in assists created off screens, and is a useful pick and roll player when paired with the more ball-dominant teammate Donovan Mitchell.

The real problem with Gobert’s rating is not so much his rating, as it is a player behind him, coming up on the next slide.

Anthony Davis – 94 Overall

Another big whose rating might be just a touch to high is the Los Angeles Lakers‘ newest star Anthony Davis. Like Gobert, this isn’t so much of a reflection on Davis’s talent as it is the gap between him and the rest of the best big men in the league.

There isn’t much to pick apart when it comes to AD’s game. He’s an adequate defender and brilliant offensive weapon, with above-average handles for a 7-footer, a serviceable jump shot, and devastating athleticism. The Brow is absolutely among the seven best players in the NBA.

The debate becomes: is he three entire points better than Joel Embiid? Four points better than Nikola Jokic?

Embiid and Jokic battled for the rights to being named First-Team All-NBA throughout the season. While Davis certainly deserves a selection in a season in which he plays, he didn’t play.

AD simply should not be able to remain so far separated from the pack after a year in which both JoJo and The Joker improved significantly and Davis did not.

Jokic is an infinitely better passer than Davis, and can stand toe-to-toe in both distance shooting and off-ball offense. Embiid, while slightly lagging in his shooting ability, is by far the best defender of the three. Their ratings should certainly be closer.

LeBron James – 97 Overall

LeBron James remains one of the association’s greatest players. King James will forever jockey with Michael Jordan for the right to be called the GOAT, and yet, his reign as the best player in the league has come to an end.

LeBron was not an MVP finalist, as he was perennially prior to this season. Nor was LeBron among the 10 best players in the league as selected to the first and second All-NBA teams.

Instead, he was edged out by Paul George (93 overall), Giannis Antetokounmpo (96 overall), and James Harden (96 overall) for the MVP race.

George, and Antetokounmpo,  as well as Kawhi Leonard (97 overall) and Kevin Durant (96 overall), beat out James for the top four forwards in the league. Yet, The King commands NBA 2K‘s top rating anyway.

Both Giannis and Kawhi have a worthy argument as being underrated given their positioning in comparison to LeBron.

This rating feels more like a lifetime achievement award than it does an honest appraisal of LeBron’s talents as he approaches his 35th birthday.

Father Time is undefeated and while James filled up the counting stats on high volume in the 2018-19 campaign, he also missed extended time to injury for the first time in his career.

In addition, his stats felt more hollow than they had in the past, causing him to fall into the overrated category of this year’s installment of 2K.