After a month of teases, we finally got full rosters for all 30 all-time teams in NBA 2K18. The rosters, released on Thursday, feature 48 players rated at a 95 overall or above — four of which got perfect 99 ratings — and no players were rated below an 80. That means each team is good, but there are levels to how good or great they are.
Our ranking of the NBA 2K18 all-time teams is a look at the full 15-man roster and the player ratings given to those individuals. We added together all 15 ratings and divided to create the composite rating for each team, which can be found in parentheses. We will be doing a list of the most fun teams — not best, but ones that figure to be the most fun to play with — later, but this ranking is purely about the math.
Here are the all-time teams, ranked worst to best:
30. Memphis Grizzlies (84.73)
High: Marc Gasol, 93
Low: Byron Scott, Greg Anthony, James Posey, and Bonzi Wells, 80
Depth drags the Grizz down here. The Gasol brothers can’t make up enough for the roughage at the bottom of this roster.
29. Toronto Raptors (84.87)
High: Vince Carter, 95
Low: Amir Johnson, Terrence Ross, and Alvin Williams, 80
Like the Grizz, this comes down to depth and the inclusion of so many players in the low 80s.
28. Charlotte Hornets (85.07)
High: Glen Rice, 89
Low: Kenny Gattison, 80
The only team in the game without a player in the 90s, but they have a good chunk of the roster in the mid-to-high 80s to keep them out of the cellar.
27. New Orleans Pelicans (85.13)
High: Chris Paul, 96
Low: Trevor Ariza and J.R. Smith, 80
The Pelicans have three players over 90, but nine players under 85. It’s boom or bust for New Orleans.
26. Orlando Magic (85.73)
High: Tracy McGrady, 95
Low: Bo Outlaw and Aaron Gordon, 80
The Magic have a stacked starting lineup and then 10 players at an 85 or below on the bench.
25. Los Angeles Clippers (85.8)
High: Bob McAdoo, 94
Low: Darius Miles, 80
The Clippers go eight deep at 85 or above, but still a significant number well below.
24. Dallas Mavericks (85.93)
High: Dirk Nowitzki, 97
Low: Brendan Haywood and J.J. Barea, 80
Nowitzki messes up the curve here, but so does their collection of four 88s on the reserve unit to give them a pretty solid rotation.
23. Indiana Pacers (86)
High: Paul George, 91
Low: George Hill, 82
Not having anyone below 82 helps here, and we have to address the elephant in the room which is the exclusion of Reggie Miller due to a rights issue that would have undoubtedly bumped them up a few slots.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves (86.33)
High: Kevin Garnett, 97
Low: Trenton Hassell, 80
This team would be very fun to play with, but don’t have quite enough high level talent on the squad to counter the low 80s down the roster.
21. Washington Wizards (86.4)
High: Elvin Hayes, 95
Low: Otto Porter, 81
A trio of players in the 90s puts them closer to the middle of the pack, as does some solid depth through the first 10 guys on the roster.
20. Portland Trail Blazers (87.2)
High: Clyde Drexler, 96
Low: Wesley Matthews, 83
Drexler and Bill Walton give them two of the top 50 players in the game, and the Blazers have sneaky solid depth with no player rated below an 83.
19. Atlanta Hawks (87.27)
High: Bob Pettit, 95
Low: Spud Webb, 80
The Hawks have a sneaky good starting lineup with four players in the 90s and an 89, and decent depth through the 10-man rotation before a drop-off.
18. Cleveland Cavaliers (87.47)
High: LeBron James, 99
Low: Craig Ehlo, 82
James gives them one of the four best players in the game, while also having 12 deep above an 85 to make a solid roster.
17. Philadelphia 76ers (87.6)
High: Allen Iverson, 97
Low: Aaron McKie, 80
This is where you start to see how good all these teams are. A middle of the road all-time team with a starting five all in the 90s. Those few at the bottom under 85 keep them here.
16. Miami Heat: (87.73)
High: LeBron James, 99
Low: Dan Majerle, 82
This is a stacked top 7, which for a video game might be all you really need, but there’s not a ton of great depth which keeps them right in the middle.
T14. Houston Rockets (88)
High: Hakeem Olajuwon, 98
Low: Robert Horry, 81
You talk about a team that, for what you need, will be great, that’s the Rockets. They have some depth issues way down at the bottom dragging them to this point, but their 10-man rotation is a beast.
T14. Milwaukee Bucks (88)
High: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 99
Low: Andrew Bogut, 83
Kareem lifts them up a bit here, but the Bucks likewise have a sneaky strong 10-man rotation.
T12. Brooklyn Nets (88.27)
High: Julius Erving, 97
Low: 5 players, 86
The Nets are just super deep. 15 guys all over an 86 keep them in the top half of this list.
T12. Utah Jazz (88.27)
High: Karl Malone and John Stockton, 97
Low: Greg Ostertag, 80
Those two Hall of Famers really help out, but the Jazz go 10 deep with guys over an 87.
11. Denver Nuggets (88.3)
High: David Thompson, 95
Low: Danilo Gallinari, 81
This was one that surprised me a bit, but the Nuggets are really good and quite fun. Shoutout to the Fat Man.
10. San Antonio Spurs (88.4)
High: Tim Duncan, 98
Low: Robert Horry, 80
You could put the Spurs’ 6-man rotation up against anyone’s in the game, but it falls off after you pass Artis Gilmore.
T8. Phoenix Suns (88.47)
High: Steve Nash, 96
Low: Cedric Ceballos, 84
Just imagine how good this team would be if Barkley allowed himself to be in the game?
T8. Sacramento Kings (88.47)
High: Oscar Robertson, 97
Low: Doug Christie, 83
I love this team. One of the most fun of all of them, and also really good on paper too.
T6. Detroit Pistons (89)
High: Isiah Thomas, 96
Low: Rick Mahorn, 80
This is a really good roster that would be even better if ‘Sheed was in the game. An absolute beast going 12-deep above 87.
T6. Chicago Bulls (89)
High: Michael Jordan, 99
Low: Steve Kerr, 81
Their top eight can battle any team in the game, and when you have Michael Jordan, you’re going to be pretty dang good.
5. New York Knicks (89.47)
High: Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing, 95
Low: Kristaps Porzingis, 86
No players below an 86 and just an absolutely stacked 10-man. The Knicks might suck now, but the all-time squad is a beast.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (89.67)
High: Kevin Durant, 97
Low: Serge Ibaka, 86
Like the Knicks, no one below an 86 and while it might feel wrong to have Sonics guys on the OKC roster, that’s the rules, and this might be my favorite roster in the game.
3. Golden State Warriors (90.87)
High: Wilt Chamberlain, 98
Low: Monta Ellis, 86
When the Warriors aren’t good they tend to be really bad, but this is a reminder that when the franchise has been good they’ve had great players. Eight players above a 90 makes them about as good as it gets.
2. Boston Celtics (92.47)
High: Larry Bird and Bill Russell, 98
Low: Antoine Walker, 87
This team is preposterous. They go 10 deep with 90s, but you can bet that when I play with them Antoine Walker is starting.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (92.53)
High: Magic Johnson, 99
Low: Derek Fisher, 84
They have more middle of the road players than Boston, but my god the first 11 players are 90s or above and the entire starting lineup is over a 96. Also, Magic being a 99 compared to Bird being a 98 is pretty much the difference between Boston and L.A., which I’m sure will go over well with Celtics fans.
