NY Knicks: What NBA 2K22 Got Right and What They Got Wrong

Did NBA 2K22 Give Accurate Ratings For NY Knicks Players?

The unveiling of a player’s overall rating on NBA 2K has become just as big of a tradition every offseason as the release of the game itself.

NBA pros are known to react to their rating. They care a lot about how high and low they are sorted, especially compared to their peers.

After all, why shouldn’t they?

It is a very publicly witnessed critique of their status in the league. Lots of guys want to be respected for their craft.

So missing out on being within a specific range when a 90+ is reserved for the NBA’s best players can sting for a lot of “second-tier stars.”

And that is where we begin when discussing the 2K Knicks.

The team’s highest-rated player to no one’s surprise is Julius Randle. The 1x All-Star and winner of the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award is starting off as an 87 overall.

This is a very fair rating for Randle IMO.

This slots him as the game’s 25th highest-rated current player. The other 87 overall players include Zach Lavine, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Klay Thompson.

Randle just entered the NBA’s collection of top talent with his play last season, so he has some more work to do.

He will need to both further establish himself as a great player and try to separate himself from others like himself if he wants higher recognition.

New York has 4 other 80+ overall players with one notable exclusion.

Those four are Kemba Walker (83), RJ Barrett (83), Derrick Rose (83), and Mitchell Robinson (80). The next highest is Evan Fournier at a 79 overall.

I believe Fournier should be either an 81 or 82 overall. He is a better offensive player than his 17 PPG average suggests.

I don’t think he should be higher than any player on this team besides Robinson and it’s a shame he doesn’t crack into the 80’s.

When seeing certain other NBA players who are rated higher it makes sense why he’s a 79, but Kyle Anderson, Bobby Portis, and Lauri Markkanen are also a 79.

See the problem?

The other four ratings I think are also very fair.

2K is known for allowing a player’s recent injuries play a role in their overall when a new season is starting.

I definitely see the reasoning for it.

That said, Walker is a bit low to me even with his health being a problem of late.

An 85 overall puts him in a tier more fitting for a player of his ilk (other 84 and 85 overalls include Jrue Holiday, Jamal Murray, LaMelo Ball, and Tingus Pingus).

Now for the reserves.

Nerlens Noel and Immanuel Quickley are rated at a 78. Alec Burks is just below then at a 77.

Noel, Quickley, and Burks are all properly rated. They all have differing but equally important roles on the team and are all quality role players best suited in a reserved role.

The high 70’s is certainly the tier for that level of player. But, this is where it gets a bit tricky.

It seems like 2K is a bit lacking when it comes to being able to make it noticeable what players are better than others once you get into the mid-70’s.

I say this because both Taj Gibson and Obi Toppin are a 76 overall.

I’d say the other Knicks in the 70’s are definitely better than Gibson, yet a 76 seems fair when looking at his attributes (letter grades for a player’s skill in different areas of the game).

Even though Noel, Quickley, and Burks are better players, they aren’t far off from Gibson and Toppin in overall, which is misleading.

Toppin for me is certainly overrated as far as 2K goes.

While Toppin is a good-looking young player, he doesn’t provide as much as Gibson does in skill, consistency, and fitting his role.

While I’m ok with Gibson as a 76, I think Toppin would be better suited as a 74.

Lastly, Kevin Knox is a 72, while Luca Vildoza and Quentin Grimes are a 71. Miles McBride and Jericho Sims are not on the Knicks’ roster as of the game’s release.