Getty Team USA's Kevin Durant LeBron James celebrate in the Men's Basketball gold medal game between the United States and Spain on Day 16 of the London 2012 Olympics Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 12, 2012 in London, England.
Just like the fruitless debates over who is the greatest basketball player of all time, debates over NBA 2K ratings are similarly in vain.
But that doesn’t stop fans from continually engaging in them. Even NBA superstars aren’t immune to getting involved in such debates.
NBA 2K22 announced its top player ratings on Wednesday, with Lakers star LeBron James earning the top spot at 96 and Nets star Kevin Durant coming in at No. 2, also with a 96 rating.
The Top 10 Players in 2K22 ⭐
Agree? #2KRatings
LeBron disagrees with at least one of those ratings.
“Nah! Should be 99!” James tweeted while adding a shrugging emoji in response to SLAM Gaming’s tweet about Durant’s 96 rating.
@SLAMftw @SLAMonline @NBA2K Nah! Should be 99! 🤷🏾♂️
That would put Durant in some very rare company. Only one player — Shaquille O’Neal — has ever had an 100 rating in a 2K game (which Shaq earned in 2K2). LeBron, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul are the only other players who have achieved a 99 rating while active on an NBA roster. No active player has reached a 99 rating since 2K14.
NBA 2K22 is set to release on September 10.
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Durant Weighs in on His Rating
Durant, for his part, agrees with LeBron’s assessment of the situation.
Durant, who is one of the cover athletes for 2K’s 75th anniversary addition, recently broke down why he thinks he’s worthy of a 99 rating.
“I think my rating should be a 99 on 2K,” Durant said in a video posted by NBA 2K on Tuesday. “I work extremely hard. I can make shots from all over the floor. I’m a solid passer — I think I’m a great passer, great rebounder. Yeah, I pretty much do everything great. That’s why I should be a 99.”
.@KDTrey5 thinks his 2K22 rating should be a 99 👀 Thoughts? #2KRatings
Last year, Durant carried a 96 overall rating in the game, second only to James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who both had 97 ratings.
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Durant Recently Made His Case for Higher NBA 2K Rating
Earlier this month, Durant shone brightest on the world’s brightest stage.
The 32-year-old and 11-time All-Star dropped 29 points in leading Team USA to a win over France in the championship game at the Tokyo Olympics.
His 29-point effort in the gold medal game came on the heels of 30-point games in each of his previous two gold medal games, in 2012 and 2016.
Damian Lillard summed it up best: “He (Durant) is the best player in the world,” he said, per Yahoo.
Durant, meanwhile, said his mindset was to simply leave it all on the court with a gold medal on the line.
“It’s winning time,” Durant said, per NBA.com. “It’s one game where you go home, it’s no series. I’ve gotta give my all every second I’m out there and I prepare the right way. I’ve just gotta go out there and trust that work. I was able to knock down some shots to keep us afloat a little bit. In the fourth quarter (Damian Lillard) took over for us and guys made plays at the end.”
The theme for this iteration of Team USA: overcoming adversity. And with its win over France in the championship game, its tournament in Tokyo came full circle.
“We went through some real adversity,” Durant said, per NBA.com. “We lost a game in the tournament, we lost two exhibition games. We had some unusual circumstances with COVID, guys playing in the Finals, coming in late, and we just fought through everything. Two-and-a-half weeks away from our families basically in a bubble. It was definitely different, so I’m glad we finished the job.”
Overcame obstacles. Got it done.
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