The latest edition of NBA 2K, NBA 2K25, is fast approaching and the ratings are starting to be revealed.
Today, 2K dropped its top 30 to 21 players and it was Hawks point guard Trae Young who found himself in that category. Young received an overall rating of 89 in the game. This is the second year in a row that he has been rated at 89 for Young and it’s not a very surprising rating.
Looking at some of the other players that 2K has determined to be in Young’s tier, Paul George, Paolo Banchero, Jimmy Butler, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Maxey are the other players who earned an 89 overall. I think it’s an interesting mix of names that indicates where the NBA and NBA media sees youngsters. Butler, Lillard, and George are the three most established players, but they’re all over 30. At this point, they’re perfectly suited to be the second option while also being able to play as the primary option on some nights.
Maxey and Banchero are much younger, but both showed they could handle being the second option last season. Both were first-time All-Stars in 2024 and are integral parts of teams that are poised to make a meaningful playoff run. The fact that Maxey and Young have the same grade is particularly interesting because they play the same position and their strengths are very different. Young is a fantastic playmaker who can carry a team’s offense, but Maxey is one of the best off-ball guards in the NBA.
I think you could argue that Young deserves a 90 overall rating. He has a more proven track record than Maxey or Banchero and has the youth that Butler, Lillard, and George lack. It’s easy to forget that Young is only 25. He’s younger than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson, both of whom will have higher ratings than him in the game. His lack of two-way potential certainly keeps him from having the same playoff ceiling as SGA, but the differences between him and Brunson seem too marginal to merit a big difference in rating.
It will be interesting to see how the top 20 scores are distributed.
