NBA 2K16: Highlighting Elite Player Ratings, Release Date and More

Is anyone else ready for some virtual hoops?

NBA 2K16 releases on September 25 to fans who have pre-ordered the game, and on September 29 to every one else. As we move toward release, player ratings have become a hot topic of conversation in the NBA 2K community.

All of the player ratings haven't been released for NBA 2K16 yet, but a good number of them have been made public via Twitter.

Operation Sports' 23 has posted a running list of the revealed player ratings to date.

One rating in particular has been a lightning rod for debate. That's the 85 overall mark for the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant.

No matter how you look at it, that 85 catches your attention. Take a look at how Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dion Waiters reacted when he found out Bryant's rating via TMZ:

Recently, Bryant hasn't looked anything like the man who was without question the best shooting guard in the NBA for years. Injuries and age have robbed him of the bounce and quickness that were once a staple of his game. Still, there's this tendency to give Bryant legacy points because of his all-time greatness.

After all, he is the only player in history to appear in every version of NBA 2K dating back to 1999 when the original NBA 2K released on the Sega Dreamcast.

Even if you disagree with Bryant's rating, once the season starts, the truth will be reflected in the game. Last year, the ratings updates came quickly and kept the online play as cohesive with real life as ever. That was an under-appreciated aspect of the overall package that we can only hope continues this year.

The highest rating that has been released thus far belongs to NBA 2K15 cover athlete Kevin Durant. The Durantula checks in with a solid 91 overall rating. That might not sound too impressive, but when put into the proper perspective, it gives Durant his due.

Ratings across the board are down a bit this year. It's not because 2K Sports believes players aren't as good as they were in previous years. It's that the philosophy has changed and there's more of an emphasis on representing the unique strengths and weaknesses of each player.

The man in charge of the ratings in the game used what he called the "Hall of Fame" scale to set the bar. He detailed it in this tweet:

If the font is a little too small for you, it was re-posted on Operation Sports by Steve Noah.

When you consider Stauffer's new philosophy, it makes Durant's 91 all the more impressive. Now, we just need to see how close LeBron James comes to Michael Jordan's 99 overall rating to really get a debate going.

The second-highest player rating issued so far went to the Washington Wizards' John Wall. 

With Wall at an 87, it makes you wonder where the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul and Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook will come in. Both would seemingly have to be rated ahead of Wall or we'll have another divisive point.

I'll be at 2K Sports headquarters on Thursday to get some hands-on time with the game.

Among other things, player ratings will be something I pay close attention to. Check back to Bleacher Report for new information about the game before it releases, and a full review on September 29.

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