NBA 2K15: Comparing Highest-Rated Players to Sports Illustrated's Top-100 List

Everyone loves ratings and rankings. Who is the best this or that is the feeder question for the long and spirited debates that drive sports communication.

The bigger the subject, the more passionate the debate. That's the reason why player ratings within video games has become a huge part of the pre-release hype for titles like NBA 2K15.

On Tuesday, we found out the top-100 rated players in the game. Mike Stauffer was brought in by 2K Sports to handle the ratings process for the game.

Having met and spoken with Stauffer about his philosophy for player ratings, it seems the numbers will get as much attention as they ever have in the series moving forward.

The release of Stauffer's ratings and rankings comes just after Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney's list of the top 100 players in the league.

Perhaps the only thing sports fans like to do more than ranking athletes, teams, etc. is comparing them. In the spirit of this sports pastime, let's compare the highest-rated players in NBA 2K15 to the list from Sports Illustrated. Here's a chart that breaks down both lists.

SI Rank	NBA 2K15 Rank	Player
1	1	LeBron James
2	2	Kevin Durant
3	3	Chris Paul
5	4	Tim Duncan
11	5	Carmelo Anthony
24	6	Kobe Bryant
7	7	Kevin Love
N/A	8	Paul George
10	9	Blake Griffin
8	10	Stephen Curry
13	11	James Harden
6	12	Anthony Davis
9	13	Dwight Howard
12	14	LaMarcus Aldridge
14	15	Dirk Nowitzki
4	16	Russell Westbrook
15	17	Tony Parker
23	18	Derrick Rose
17	19	Joakim Noah
22	20	Damian Lillard
26	21	Al Jefferson
40	22	Rajon Rondo
20	23	Dwyane Wade
31	24	John Wall
27	25	DeMarcus Cousins
21	26	Kyrie Irving
28	27	Kawhi Leonard
61	28	DeMar DeRozan
16	29	Marc Gasol
30	30	Kyle Lowry
34	31	Paul Millsap
35	32	Goran Dragic
18	33	Chris Bosh
19	34	Serge Ibaka
42	35	Zach Randolph
73	36	Lance Stephenson
44	37	Ty Lawson
45	38	Deron Williams
41	39	Manu Ginobili
25	40	Al Horford
32	41	Mike Conley
36	42	Brook Lopez
37	43	Andre Drummond
67	44	Rudy Gay
54	45	Klay Thompson
29	46	Andre Iguodala
49	47	Pau Gasol
66	48	Monta Ellis
50	49	Jrue Holiday
94	50	Kemba Walker
51	51	Joe Johnson
60	52	David Lee
33	53	Eric Bledsoe
77	54	Kenneth Faried
76	55	Bradley Beal
38	56	DeAndre Jordan
58	57	Marcin Gortat
48	58	Nikola Pekovic
46	59	Paul Pierce
90	60	Isaiah Thomas
47	61	David West
75	62	Taj Gibson
52	63	Roy Hibbert
98	64	Jimmy Butler
68	65	Greg Monroe
NR	66	Michael Carter-Williams
53	67	Josh Smith
63	68	Nene
NR	69	Brandon Jennings
65	70	Andrew Bogut
89	71	Nikola Vucevic
86	72	Jamal Crawford
56	73	Chandler Parson
57	74	Gordon Hayward
87	75	Ricky Rubio
NR	76	Eric Gordon
99	77	Kevin Martin
43	78	Nicolas Batum
NR	79	Brandon Knight
NR	80	Darren Collison
55	81	Luol Deng
39	82	Tyson Chandler
78	83	Larry Sanders
NR	84	Victor Oladipo
84	85	Tyreke Evans
NR	86	Tony Allen
74	87	Kyle Korver
100	88	Boris Diaw
NR	89	Jeff Green
83	90	Trevor Ariza
80	91	Jonas Valunciunas
81	92	Arron Afflalo
72	93	Wesley Matthews
NR	94	Dion Waiters
69	95	Thaddeus Young
NR	96	Avery Bradley
NR	97	Miles Plumlee
79	98	Derrick Favors
92	99	Jeff Teague
NR	100	Patrick Beverley

The No-Brainers

image from NBA 2K15, provided by 2K Sports

The top three players in the league weren't up for debate with these two entities. Both Stauffer and SI's duo see the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant and the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul as the top players in the league.

Most would agree that even though Durant had an amazing season last year, James is still the best all-around player on the planet. Paul averaged 19.1 points, 10.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.

image from NBA 2K15, provided by 2K Sports

This was the third time Paul had averaged at least 19 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and two steals per game in a season. Legendary Detroit Pistons' star Isiah Thomas is the only other point guard to have such a season.

Anyone who discounts Paul's greatness is delusional.

The Lightning Rods

Kobe Bryant

The Black Mamba's rankings don't have the greatest disparity, but the difference is interesting nonetheless. NBA 2K15 still sees Bryant as the sixth-best player in the league; SI has Kobe listed at No. 24.

Lakers fans will sneer at SI's placement of the legend, but it's hard to argue with their logic.

Golliver and Mahoney write:

"

If … If … If. That’s the first and last word when it comes to Bryant, who is coming back from an Achilles injury that ended his 2012-13 season a week before the playoffs and a knee injury that cut his 2013-14 season short after just six nondescript games.

"

"

If Bryant can regain his form from two seasons ago, he’s easily the best two-guard in the game. If Bryant can average 25 points, then the Lakers have a shot at making the playoffs. If Bryant can stay healthy, he can resume his delayed chase of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

"

It's obvious: Stauffer is betting that Bryant will recover and return to form. He has him as the sixth-best player in the video game.

Who can call that a crazy notion? Bryant's notorious work ethic and dedication is what has made him one of the all-time greats. It's also what could make his comeback a major success next season.

 

Russell Westbrook

Fans are usually split on Westbrook. Some chide him for being too much of a ball hog, others appreciate his blend of fire, speed and explosiveness. 

Golliver and Mahoney believe Westbrook is truly elite. They have him listed as the fourth-best player in the NBA. According to NBA 2K15, Westbrook will only be 16th.

Westbrook averaged 21.8 points, 6.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. To be honest, it's difficult to imagine how a guy who put up those types of numbers wouldn't be considered one of the league's top five players.

That said, if Westbrook is really the fourth-best player in the league, how could he and the second-best player fail in the postseason? I don't think there's anyone that would demote Durant in the rankings.

That leaves Westbrook as the guy to take the cut. Perhaps that's what Stauffer did when he placed him at No. 16.

Rajon Rondo

Rondo is another star whose place among the league's best is debatable.

When you have a point guard who isn't a good shooter and has failed to lead his team to the postseason the last two seasons, there's reason to believe he isn't elite.

It's true, Rondo has battled injuries over that time. In fact, he recently broke his hand and will miss six to eight weeks, per Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.

Rondo is one of the NBA's premier playmakers and a gambler on defense. The latter has resulted in 1.9 steals per game over his career. That said, when it comes to on-ball defense, Rondo isn't the best.

Because he's slight, he can be bodied. He also can be a bit lazy with his foot movement, which instead results in reaching to poke the ball away.

NBA 2K sees Rondo as the 22nd-highest-ranked player in the game. SI has him at No. 40. Golliver and Mahoney take into consideration Rondo's questionable temperament and the aforementioned on-court laziness.

Golliver and Mahoney write:

"

We know how good Rondo can be. He's dominated playoff series. He led the NBA in assists in back-to-back seasons. He's sly. He's athletic. He makes jaw-dropping plays through magnetic creativity. Fans revere this Rondo. The complete Rondo, however, can't be contained so neatly in a highlight reel, not when he drifts, mails in games and comes with a mess of baggage. Both extremes, and the complicating factors between them, play a part in his ranking, which is lower than his talent might warrant.

"

Because those types of issues may not impact your gaming experience—though there are personality attributes included in the game—perhaps that's why Rondo got more respect in NBA 2K15.

There are a few other discrepancies between the two lists. Take a look. NBA 2K15 officially releases in stores on Tuesday, Oct. 7 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Follow Brian Mazique, aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist.