NBA Rookies Predict Their NBA 2K15 Ratings
The NBA's newest batch of talent took to Reddit Sunday, participating in a highly entertaining AMA. They answered a wide array of questions, revealing everything from their hidden talents off the hardwood to which other members of their draft class talk the most trash.
One of the most interesting parts of the thread came from Redditor "risinglotus," who asked: "what would you guess your 2k rating to be?"
"2k rating" refers to the popular NBA video game NBA 2K15 in which you play as a professional basketball team against either the computer or another user. One of the perks of getting drafted into the NBA out of college - along with the money - is becoming a virtual basketball star. EA Sports' college basketball video game, NCAA March Madness, disbanded in 2010, so for the rookies entering the league this year, 2K15 will be their first chance to play as themselves in a video game.
Each player in the video game has an overall rating between 0 and 99, based on a number of factors including offensive and defensive awareness, free throw and 3-point shooting ability, dunking, and several others. LeBron James had the highest overall rating in NBA 2K14 with a 99, while, for the sake of comparison, Victor Oladipo and no. 1 pick Anthony Bennett both had ratings of 76 during their rookie seasons.
Several rookies answered this question in the AMA, and their answers varied from silly to serious. Andrew Wiggins, the no. 1 pick in the 2014 Draft, said he was hoping for "80+", while no. 2 pick Jabari Parker was perhaps overly modest, guessing "50." Joel Embiid, who was drafted third but is expected to miss the upcoming season with a foot injury, has even higher expectations for his virtual basketballing ability. "Like a 90," he said.
Julius Randle, picked by the Lakers at no. 7, was a little cocky, to say the least. He responded with a simple "99." Adreian Payne of the Atlanta Hawks took the more comedic route: "Same as Kobe's and LeBron LOL."
Others were slightly more realistic. Nik Stauskas, a lights-out shooter drafted by the Sacramento Kings, responded, "It's going to be horrible. In the 60's. I'll be a 100 in shooting and 0 in everything else. No ball handling." Marcus Smart holds himself to a slightly higher standard than Stauskas. "Probably 78. If I'm a 60 or below I'm going to be upset," he wrote. The Nets' Markel Brown seemed pretty sure of himself: "I will be an 80. My athleticism better be a 100."
PJ Hairston seemed to confuse the rating system with the typical A-F grading system: "Hopefully a 70. My dribbling should be an A+," he said.
Although there's no correlation between 2K15's original rating of rookies and their actual performance as a player in the league, it's still fun to hear what the young guys think about themselves before they've even played in an NBA game yet, whether they're entirely serious or not.