NBA 2K16: Top Revealed Player Ratings, Release Date and 2K Pro-Am Preview

We're less than 10 days away from the early release of NBA 2K16. Fans who pre-ordered the game will get it on September 25 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One or PC. Others will have to wait until September 29 to partake in the latest installment of the undisputed king of virtual hoops.

One of the most highly anticipated modes in the game is 2K Pro-Am. This mode is a continuation of NBA 2K15's MyPark and Jordan Rec Center (JRC) options. All are descendants of the popular—yet flawed—Crew mode.

Here's a look at the trailer:

Last year, connectivity issues hindered MyPark and JRC early on. There were long wait times for players and some instability. There were also several exploits that dishonorable online players used to cheat the system. Perhaps the biggest was the creation of 7-foot small forwards who were unrealistically difficult to stop

As you can see from the trailer, 2K Sports is claiming to have remedied the issues with long wait times via instant matchmaking. While we hope this is the fix needed, If that's true, the mode will almost certainly be a huge success.

To combat the creation of Marvel superhero-like players, there will now be a cap on heights per position. The official Twitter account of the game tweeted out the specs on this change:

The bigger the player, the more difficult it will be for him to develop guard-like skills. Those same skills will be capped to keep exploiters from circumventing the system. This is music to the ears of those who like to play the game the right way. As for the others, they'll likely look for some other way to break the game.

While that maintenance was needed, the best aspect of Pro-Am is the team customization. You can now design uniforms, the arena, floor and logo for your Pro-Am team. This is no cookie-cutter creation tool. You'll be able to upload images that can be used as the logo for your jerseys and/or the arena floor.

This is next-level customization.

The Megastars

Only a few big-name stars have had their player ratings released. The highest of all at this point is a 91 for the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant. Don't expect many players to trump him once all of the ratings have been released.

Here's a list of the 10 best players who have had their ratings revealed:

• Kevin Durant (Overall Rating: 91)
• John Wall (Overall Rating: 87)
• Kobe Bryant (Overall Rating: 85)
• Andre Drummond (Overall Rating: 83)
• Isaiah Thomas (Overall Rating: 81)
• Hassan Whiteside (Overall Rating: 81)
• Rudy Gobert (Overall Rating: 79)
• Jared Sullinger (Overall Rating: 77)
• Tony Wroten (Overall Rating: 75)
• Aaron Brooks (Overall Rating: 75)

The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James seems like a lock to be the highest-rated active player. It only makes sense as he's still the best all-around player in the game.

We haven't seen media or literature on the classic teams, but I did find out some information about a few of the legends when I visited the 2K headquarters last week. I was told by the ratings team that the 1995-96 version of Michael Jordan was the only 99-rated player in the game.

There are multiple versions of Jordan in the game, but that year His Airness shot just under 43 percent from three-point range. He shot 3.2 treys per game as he had one of his best seasons statistically. Based on the information provided to me, the 1995-96 Jordan is the ratings standard-bearer, and everyone else follows his lead.

It's a solid philosophy, and it also helps to level the playing field when mixing classic rosters with current teams and players. Stay tuned as more player ratings will be revealed in the coming days while we wait for the release.

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