With NBA 2K’s annual release last week, we finally had the chance to take a look at this season’s new player ratings from across the league.
While the majority of these player ratings end up being a fairly accurate representation of NBA talent, there are inevitably some errors in analyzing the actual quality of certain players. This is especially true in the case of Utah Jazzwho earned a controversial ranking among his top contributors in 2K25.
Bleacher ReportGrant Hughes recently pointed out some notable differences in the game, calling Lauri Markkanen’s 86 overall rating the “most insulting” rating on the entire Jazz roster, saying that the rank effectively puts him in a category of players who “are simply not at his level”:
“I hope Lauri Markkanen’s new contract helps him recover from his injuries, because he has to be injured after posting an 86 overall rating that puts him in a category of players who simply aren’t at his level. The 7-foot-10 wing is coming off another breakout year with the Utah Jazz, averaging 23.1 points per game on a 48.0/39.9/89.9 shooting percentage… And yet, his 86 overall rating matches Franz Wagner, who shot 28.1 percent from three-point range last year, and Dejounte Murray, who has never scored as efficiently as Markkanen… 86 simply doesn’t reflect what Markkanen, one of the biggest offensive threats in the entire league, brings to the table.”
– Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report
Perhaps it’s his place on a rebuilding Jazz team that doesn’t allow Markkanen to get the respect he deserves, but regardless, it’s hard to put him in the same conversations as players like Murray and Wagner.
A more justified placement might be a spot in the top 80% — the same area where All-Star talents like Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Maxey reside. While Markkanen didn’t exactly earn an All-Star nod in his final 2023-24 campaign, he’s a guy who often has a chance to earn that selection and will continue to do so sooner when Utah returns to a competitive roster.
On the plus side for Markkanen, with good play this season, he has a good chance of getting that mark up to where it’s supposed to be as the year progresses.
Markkanen and the Jazz will begin their upcoming season in just over a month, with Utah’s season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies October 23.
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