2K Rating: 76
Anyone who has really paid attention to the Kings down the stretch knows that Keon Ellis is one of the underrated role players in the association.
He functions as a lightweight version of world champion and gold medalist Derrick White. He is an excellent perimeter defender (93rd percentile DEF EPM) who offers positional rim protection (76th percentile block rate) and turnover creation (92nd percentile steal rate). And on offense, he gives you shooting (41.7 percent from three-point range) and closeout attacks (88th percentile true shooting on drives, according to Thinking Basketball).
However, it doesn’t seem like 2k was paying attention. With a 76 overall rating, Ellis is tied for sixth on the Kings with Kevin Huerter. I don’t mind that part, because the players he’s ranked behind make sense (Sabonis, Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk).
The annoying thing is that there are players in the league who are ranked higher than Ellis. For example, Cam Thomas, a player known as a high-end scorer who struggles to add value elsewhere, is ranked higher than Ellis (81). Another player who is ahead of Ellis and probably shouldn’t be is Tre Mann (77) – an even worse version of the Thomas archetype.
To get a sense of how false these grades are, here’s a look at the estimated plus-minus (EPM) ratings for these three players from last season.
|
Player |
Plus-Minus Estimate (EPM) |
|---|---|
|
Keon Ellis |
+1.0 |
|
Three men |
-1.2 |
|
Cam Thomas |
-1.4 |
It is important to keep in mind that single-digit metrics are not everything (although EPM is the best publicly available metric on the market today). But in this case, it is a good indicator of where these players stand relative to each other.
It seems like 2K is prioritizing an ineffective player over a strong complementary skill set. Typically, on top teams, a good role player is preferred over a poor scorer.
