We are less than a month away from teams reporting to training camps around the NBA, and the official first sign that the new season is almost upon us is the annual release of the latest installment of the NBA 2K franchise, NBA 2K24.
While fans of the game will be concerned mostly with the gameplay changes and updated game modes, general NBA fans are always interested in seeing how the ratings folks at 2K grade out all of the players and teams in the league. Player ratings always spark debate, particularly among how they rank top stars and regarding players whose impact often isn’t fully felt in the box score — or, vice versa, those who put up big stats but might not always contribute to winning basketball. As far as team ratings, 2K has moved away from dramatic differences between top and bottom teams, as the lowest rated team in this year’s edition is an 86 OVR and they don’t even show team ratings in the game setup screen (you can find them in MySeason mode when picking through teams to start a franchise with).
The defending champion Denver Nuggets will enter the 2023-24 season with the same starting lineup that dominated in both the regular season and postseason, led by the dynamic two-man game of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The question for Denver coming off of the franchise’s first title lie within the bench unit, as Bruce Brown is now in Indiana and Jeff Green is now in Houston, meaning two of their first three players off the bench from last year now must be replaced. Christian Braun and Peyton Watson figure to take on a large portion of that responsibility, while Zeke Nnaji and Justin Holiday are also potential minutes eaters. The drop-off to the bench unit is significant enough to have the Nuggets possibly underrated by the 2K folks, as they boast just a 93 OVR rating, largely due to their defensive question marks.
Denver Nuggets: 93 OVR, 99 OFF, 88 DEF
Nikola Jokic: 98
Jamal Murray: 88
Aaron Gordon: 84
Michael Porter Jr.: 83
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 78
Christian Braun: 76
Reggie Jackson: 74
Zeke Nnaji: 74
Justin Holiday: 73
Vlatko Cancar: 73
Peyton Watson: 73
DeAndre Jordan: 72
Julian Strawther: 70
Hunter Tyson: 70
Jalen Pickett: 70
Collin Gillespie: 68
Jay Huff: 67
Braxton Key: 66