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 Pistons are among the teams at the bottom of the 2K team ratings, which isn’t a surprise for a team coming off of having the league’s worst record. Cade Cunningham’s return is the lead storyline of the season in Detroit, but behind that is how their young talent will sort itself out. There are a number of interesting players on this roster, from Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson on the perimeter to their glut of castoff big men, but how it all fits together is not obvious on either end of the floor. We’ll see if there is a leap to be had from this young roster, but Monty Williams will certainly have his hands full trying to pull all the right strings to make the Pistons work.
Detroit Pistons: 88 OVR, 89 OFF, 87 DEF
Cade Cunningham: 84
Bojan Bogdanovic: 82
Jaden Ivey: 80
Jalen Duren: 79
James Wiseman: 78
Marvin Bagley III: 78
Monte Morris: 78
Isaiah Stewart: 77
Ausar Thompson: 76
Alec Burks: 76
Joe Harris: 76
Killian Hayes: 75
Isaiah Livers: 74
Marcus Sasser: 70
Jared Rhoden: 69