It doesn’t seem that long ago that Ja Morant took the NBA by storm with his elite jumping, finishing and playmaking ability. When he was with the Grizzlies, he was the epicenter of sport in Memphis, even in the bad times, rallying a city behind him and building a culture.
He took the Grizzlies to heights they had never seen, earning them back-to-back No. 2 seeds in the Western Conference in 2022 and 2023. That run didn’t last much longer after that, however, with departures from key players, injuries to stars, including Morant, and off-the-court fiascos.
Morant was seemingly checked out of the organization and inevitably shipped to Portland to pair alongside Damian Lillard. With his lack of playing time due to injuries, NBA 2K has plummeted his ranking ahead of its Sept. 4 release. He lands in 60th in the rankings at an 84 overall.
Who’s making the biggest leap this year?
Morant’s Fall From Superstardom
Morant was a certified top-25 player, according to 2K’s ratings, in the past four years. In the last four 2K releases, Morant has been a 90 overall or higher, reaching his peak at 93 in 2K23.
He started his career like any high-drafted rookie, sitting at a 79 overall. After pushing the Grizzlies to the play-in in year one, he boosted his stock to an 85, where he’d stay the next couple of seasons.
When he and the Grizzlies made their jump in the 2022 season, 2K gifted Morant the 93 overall for the following year, making him the 9th-highest-rated-player in the entire NBA.
Even coming into the 2025-26 season, 2K handed him a 91 overall. However, this is when his situation went from questionable to alarming. Morant would only play 20 games in the 2025-26 season and statistically had one of the worst seasons of his career.
Controversy with the front office and the coaching staff, along with off-the-court antics and lack of play, led the Grizzlies to trade away their once-franchise guy and start anew.
Portland traded for Morant, a negative asset according to GMs across the league, and gave Memphis Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. The Grizzlies received zero draft compensation.
Other Blazers Ratings Announced
With the 100-51 overall players announced, here’s where some other Trailblazers landed in 2K27’s rankings.
Who’s standing out in the 90–81 range?
2K rates Shaedon Sharpe as an 81 overall, 96th best in the NBA. It’s the same rating 2K gave him in 2K26. Sharpe is coming off the best statistical season of his career and has a lot of potential to grow.
At 89, Donovan Clingan checks in at an 82 overall, a two-point increase from where he started last season. Clingan had a monster season on the glass last year, finishing third in overall rebounding with 11.6 a game. Similar to Sharpe, Clingan also has potential to boost his rating.
Finally, in 81st, Jrue Holiday lands at an 82 overall. The 36-year-old veteran is still holding it down amongst the league’s best.
As the developers announce the 50-1 overall players closer to launch, expect Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija to hold down a couple of those spots.
Ja Morant Drops Heavily in 2K27 Ratings Release