NBA Live 16: Analyzing Star Player Ratings, Release Date, Live Pro-Am Gameplay

There should be no doubt that the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. The ratings guys at EA Sports have made him the highest-rated player in NBA Live 16 with a 97 overall rating.

Just behind him is Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant at 96. Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin, point guard Chris Paul, the New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis, Houston Rockets' James Harden and Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol are all in the next tier at 95 overall.

Oddly enough, Durant's teammate and cover star Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry, the league MVP from the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, aren't rated in the top five. Both check in at 94 overall.

You can see all of the ratings in this video from DLloydTV:

The balance across the board in the NBA Live 16 ratings may draw a foul call with some gamers. The question one might ask is: Should we consider James just two points away from being the perfect player?

While the 2014-15 season was great for James, statistically it wasn't one of his best. Are the ratings graded on a curve, or is there a formula to determine the bottom that is stat-based?

image provided by EA Sports

It's an interesting concept to ponder. Ultimately, James is the king of this game, with KD a close second in command.

NBA Live 16 releases in stores on September 29 in full form, but a pretty expansive demo is available. The centerpiece of the demo is Live Pro-Am. The online multiplayer mode is designed to simulate summer pick-up basketball and to compete with NBA 2K's The Park and 2K Pro-Am features.

Like NBA 2K15, Live 16 is allowing gamers to scan in their faces to create a photo-realistic version of themselves to take online for competition. Instead of using the Xbox Kinect or PlayStation 4 camera to complete the scan, EA Sports launched the GameFace HD app.

The process is much smoother than it was with NBA 2K15, though accurate skin tones are an issue for some.

On the court, the action is fast-paced and entertaining. Here's a look at my first foray on the Live Pro-Am courts with a monstrous, rim-protecting center named Polaris Vortex.

Obviously, this isn't the final version, but from what we can see, there's a decent foundation with Live Pro-Am. We'll have to see what has been added or tweaked for the final version when it releases.