NBA 2K15: Notable Player Rankings Ahead of Release Date
One of the most enjoyable aspects of being an NBA fan is debating about which teams or individual players are better than the other ones.
Sure, the team debates are often settled on the court come playoff time, but are we ever really sure who the fifth-best player in the NBA is compared to the sixth-best? Fortunately, NBA 2K15 has individual player rankings that can at least add some ammunition to your arguments.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some notable player rankings as the release date of Oct. 7 approaches.
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*CBS Sports has a list of every player rating for each team.
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder: 95 overall
The cover athlete gets to be the highest-rated player in the game, right?
Not when LeBron James is in the NBA.
Kevin Durant graces the NBA 2K15 cover and is a 95 overall in the game, but James checks in at a 98. The three-point difference may seem fairly large, but it’s hard to take issue with it considering James is the face of the game of basketball and has two championship rings and four straight trips to the NBA Finals.
Still, Durant will be nearly impossible to stop in the virtual world. His three-point shooting will simply be ridiculous, which means you should prepare to frustrate your friends as you pull up with the 6’9” Durant and drill shots over anyone guarding him. If your opponent puts a taller guy on Durant, you can blow past him off the dribble.
One person who will not be dominating with Durant on NBA 2K15 will be the man himself. Louis Ojeda Jr. of Fox Sports Southwest passed along Durant’s quotes on the game from his appearance on The Tonight Show:
"Why wouldn't Durant want to be himself in the game?
"Nah, that's kind of arrogant," he deadpans to Fallon.
When Fallon insists on knowing which player Durant selects, he replies: "All right, LeBron."
"
It may be arrogant for Durant to use himself in the game, but we recommend that you give it a try.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 89 overall
It is not uncommon to hear announcers say that Stephen Curry is putting up video-game numbers as he gets hot behind the three-point line. The flick of his wrist is so constant every time that he may as well be flicking the R-stick on a PlayStation controller.
Now gamers will get to do just that with Curry.
There may be no better way to quickly turn the tide of a video game than by drilling a handful of three-pointers in a row, and Curry is probably the best man to do that in NBA 2K15 (and the actual NBA).
Elsewhere on the Golden State Warriors, Klay Thompson is an 82, Andre Iguodala is an 82, David Lee is an 82, Andrew Bogut is an 80, Draymond Green is a 77 and Harrison Barnes is a 76. Barnes may be a bit underrated, but we are talking about a very deep team here.
It will be difficult for an opponent to pay too close attention to Curry’s shooting with multiple defenders because Curry’s teammates will light it up. If you play against the Warriors in NBA 2K15, you will understand the pain the rest of the Western Conference feels.
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: 90 overall
This rating is just about respect, plain and simple.
There are only three players ranked higher than Duncan in NBA 2K15, and they are James, Durant and Chris Paul.
That means Duncan is rated as a better player in the virtual world than Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Dirk Nowitzki, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge and own teammate Tony Parker, among others.
Not bad for the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer.
Remember, we are talking about the cover athlete of NBA Live 2000. It is an incredible testament to Duncan’s longevity and overall career that he can be rated as a 90 15 years after he was on the cover of a different NBA video game.
Dan McCarney of MySanAntonio.com added some context to the rating:
"It’s a generous rating to be sure, given that Duncan was rated at 87 in last year’s game on the heels of becoming the oldest player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980s to earn first-team All-NBA honors. Duncan wasn’t quite as good in 2013-14, averaging 2.7 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.8 blocks fewer per game in roughly one minute less per game.
But make no mistake — even at 38, he remains a quality player on both ends of the court, and a key to the Spurs’ hope of defending their title in what just might be his last NBA season.
"
Banked shots, low-post passes out of double-teams and strong fundamentals may not be what some gamers are looking for in NBA 2K15, but those who use Duncan will not be disappointed.
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