We are less than a month away from teams reporting to training camps around the NBA, and the official first sign that the new season is almost upon us is the annual release of the latest installment of the NBA 2K franchise, NBA 2K24.
While fans of the game will be concerned mostly with the gameplay changes and updated game modes, general NBA fans are always interested in seeing how the ratings folks at 2K grade out all of the players and teams in the league. Player ratings always spark debate, particularly among how they rank top stars and regarding players whose impact often isn’t fully felt in the box score — or, vice versa, those who put up big stats but might not always contribute to winning basketball. As far as team ratings, 2K has moved away from dramatic differences between top and bottom teams, as the lowest rated team in this year’s edition is an 86 OVR and they don’t even show team ratings in the game setup screen (you can find them in MySeason mode when picking through teams to start a franchise with).
No team enters the 2023-24 season with a more overhauled roster than the Houston Rockets, who were the lone team that really attacked the free agent market this summer. The result was adding Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jock Landale, and Jeff Green to a young roster filled with fascinating talent that has never come together into a cohesive unit. Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason are all candidates to take a leap next year, but its rare for a team to get that from all of their youngsters at once. With Ime Udoka now in charge, they’ll look to establish a defensive identity that provides some floor balance to their tremendous offensive potential in hopes that wins will follow.
Houston Rockets: 91 OVR, 91 OFF, 90 DEF
Fred VanVleet: 83
Jalen Green: 83
Alperen Sengun: 83
Jabari Smith Jr.: 79
Dillon Brooks: 78
Kevin Porter Jr.: 78
Tari Eason: 78
Amen Thompson: 76
Jae’Sean Tate: 76
Jeff Green: 75
Cam Whitmore: 74
Jock Landale: 74
Aaron Holiday: 73
Boban Marjanovic: 72
Trevor Hudgins: 68
Darius Days: 67
