Examining Oklahoma City Thunder Player Ratings in NBA 2K16

NBA 2K16 comes out on Friday for those of you smart enough to pre-order the game. All you suckers who didn’t pre-order will have to wait until next Tuesday. As with any video game, it’s always fun to see how players were rated by those in charge of things like that. And it’s also fun to overreact to those ratings. So, let’s all overreact to how the 2K team rated the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kevin Durant – 91 Overall: Are you kidding me? Durant is somehow rated lower than James Harden and #5 overall player in the game. LeBron is obviously the best player in the league while Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, and Harden benefitted from the “cover boost” because that’s the only way I can explain them being rated higher than Durant.He dropped a whole three points from his MVP season despite putting up fantastic numbers when he played. Sure, he didn’t play much, but three points off his rating when the only thing that declined was his durability? That makes no sense. As a reference, Nerlens Noel was rated 72 overall as a rookie in NBA 2K14. He missed his entire rookie season with an injury. His rating in NBA 2K15? 76 overall. Somehow, despite never playing a NBA game, Noel jumped 4 overall points from his rookie season to his sophomore season. If anything, Durant’s ratings should be higher than last year because OKC missed the playoffs without him, thus proving just how valuable he is to the team.

Russell Westbrook – 89 Overall: Westbrook is the third highest point guard, behind Curry and Chris Paul, and the #7 player overall. It’s a pretty fair rating, unless your name is Russell Westbrook. While he put up fantastic numbers in the regular season, he didn’t make the playoffs with the Thunder. That said, this is a video game. Players aren’t rated on wins and losses, they’re rated on numbers, and Westbrook’s numbers stack up with anyone in the league.

Enes Kanter – 80 Overall: Kanter fell just outside of the top 10 centers in the game as Hasan Whiteside, the #10 center, is 81 overall. While he has his detractors, thanks in large part to the money he’s making, and his defense is pretty bad, there’s no denying that Kanter is an impact player on the offensive end and the boards.

Serge Ibaka – 80 Overall: This is a bit puzzling. Ibaka and Kanter are rated the same. While Kanter is a more polished post player, Ibaka is just as effective on the offensive end and one of the best defensive players in the league. Ibaka dropped four points from last year’s game, which seems a bit harsh. Like Durant, he battled through injuries this past season and, while he wasn’t as good as he was in 2013-2014, it’s not like his production dropped off that much.

Steven Adams – 74 Overall: According to the 2K ratings masters, Adams is the same player as he was last year when he was also rated 74 overall. Aside from Durant dropped three points due to injury, Adams remaining the same might be the biggest ratings blunder. Anyone who watched Adams from his rookie season to his sophomore season saw a completely different player. He was better in every facet of the game and it’s a travesty and this isn’t reflected in the ratings.

Anthony Morrow – 74 Overall: Morrow gets a slight bump over last year’s model. What’s a little confusing is that Jeremy Lamb is also 74 overall. While I’m a huge fan of Lamb and wish him all the luck in Charlotte, he hasn’t exactly proven himself as a consistent and capable NBA player. On the other hand, Morrow is one of the top shooters in the league and very consistent on the offensive end.

D.J. Augustin – 73 Overall: A pretty fair rating. Jarrett Jack is 74 overall and Norris Cole is 72 overall. Augustin fits between those two when it comes to back-up point guards.

Mitch McGary – 73 Overall: McGary gets a huge boost from his rookie season, jumping from a 68 overall to a 73 overall. While he definitely deserves the boost, it’s a little steep, especially considering that Adams received no boost at all. While McGary made the most of his limited playing time, his sample size seems a bit too small to warrant such an increase.

Dion Waiters – 73 Overall: Way too low for the best shooting guard in the league.

Cameron Payne – 72 Overall: If you want to trade D.J. Augustin in your OKC MyGM mode, the rating of rookie point guard Payne makes it pretty easy for you to do so as he’s only one point lower than OKC’s primary back-up. I always find it tough to rate rookies, but as an avid MyGM player, a high rating for Payne means good things in putting together trades.

Nick Collison – 73 Overall: Due to the baffling rating of Adams, this number appears high. While I like Collison and appreciate all the little things he does as a player and teammate, it’s tough for me to agree that he’s only a notch lower than Adams.

Andre Roberson – 72 Overall: I’m sure his defensive ratings are off the chart.

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