According to player ratings in NBA 2K25, the The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the strongest cores in the league. They had five players ranked in the top 100with Zion Williamson receiving the team’s highest overall grade.
One of the players who received one of these prestigious awards is Herbert Jones.
A second-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft, he immediately established himself as a key part of the team’s rotation.
He made 69 starts as a rookie and never looked back. A defensive star, Jones has also quietly improved offensively.
During the 2023-24 campaign, he averaged a career-high 11 points per game. One of the factors that helped him break the double-digit mark for the first time in his career was his improved 3-point shooting.
Jones made 41.8 percent of his 3.6 attempts per game. Not only did he make the most three-pointers of his career, but it was by far his most efficient season. He made 33.7 percent of his attempts as a freshman and 33.5 percent as a sophomore.
His 86.7% free throw shooting and 2.6 assists per game are also career highs.
Unfortunately, the people who give player ratings for NBA 2K have not shown the Alabama generates the kind of respect he deserves. As is often the case, his defensive prowess is not adequately reflected in his overall picture.
That’s why Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report highlighted its overall score of 82 as one of the most insulting of this year’s game release.
“Unstoppable, long, disruptive, stronger than you think and with that rare ability to mimic his opponent’s movements as if he were inside the player’s head, the New Orleans Pelicans’ stopper contributes like a true star. Case in point: Zion Williamson was the only Pelicans player to surpass Jones in estimated wins last season, and opponents shot just 44.0 percent when Jones was the primary defender, just one percentage point behind NBA leader Draymond Green (among those defending at least 11.0 shots per game),” he wrote.
If Jones can put together another solid season as a 3-point shooter, he should start to get the same respect in the virtual world that he has earned in the real world.
Updates are made throughout the NBA season to player ratings, so expect to see his rating improve as the year goes on if he can build on what he did last season.
