NBA 2K depicts an (almost) accurate picture of the Utah Jazz

NBA 2K updates the ratings of the players throughout the season to give gamers the most realistic simulation of NBA basketball possible and the Utah Jazz ones were quite accurate.

For those of you that eat, drink, sleep and breathe NBA basketball, you have probably heard of NBA 2K20, and maybe even played it on your gaming console or PC.

Earlier this season, our very own Ryan Aston noted how the Utah Jazz were rated among the elite in NBA 2K, accurately taking their offseason improvements into consideration. That has fallen in line with the Jazz’s play of this season, as Utah sits at a tie for second in the Western Conference.

NBA 2K does a good job of giving accurate ratings for players, and the many hours I played as a kid were instrumental in helping me learn the names and positions of nearly every player in the league. I was able to go into the players rating system and analyze every detail of their offensive and defensive game, as well as intangibles such as height, weight, shooting form, and tendencies. I also got to hear great basketball minds such as Steve Kerr and Clark Kellogg give their commentary on various NBA players during gameplay.

Were it not for that game, I would not be in this position to analyze in-depth the Utah Jazz and NBA basketball. This game truly helped me jump from a Utah Jazz homer to an objective and educated basketball mind.

Nevertheless, the game still picks favorites and lets some players fly under the radar. It always seemed like my games made LeBron James and the Miami Heat win. Another example is how criminally underrated the game would rate Gordon Hayward in his early years, of which I would always go into his ratings and “fix it” to make it more accurate in my 12-year-old mind. In fact, I would constantly tinker with nearly every NBA player’s ratings after researching their games.

Back in the real world, three weeks of basketball season have come and gone, and there has been no shortage of surprises and disappointments across the association. NBA 2K has picked up on some of these and changed their player ratings accordingly.

Here are some of the most notable upticks in ratings:

Luka Doncic went from an 87 to a 90 overall rating. This is very much warranted given that he’s played at an MVP level this season, which is more impressive when you consider he is only 20 years old. The Dallas Mavericks have come out of the gates strong, and they currently sit at sixth in the Western Conference.

Kendrick Nunn went from a measly 70 to a 76 rating. If he keeps up his play that rating could continue to climb throughout this season. The Miami Heat are also off to an impressive start and are currently tied for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went from a 79 to an 83, and he is a serious threat to win most improved player of the year. I knew he was good but I was expecting him to dip in his efficiency with a bigger role on a new team. NBA 2K hit the nail on the head on this one.

Aron Baynes has been a catalyst to the Phoenix Suns’ impressive start. In the game he jumped from a 75 to a 78 rating, and in real life has a 25.5 player efficiency rating (PER), which is good enough for 14th in the league.

Meanwhile, for the Utah Jazz, Rudy Gobert went from being the fourth-highest rated center in the league to sixth, dropping down from an 88 to an 86 overall rating. He was leapfrogged by Andre Drummond and Al Horford. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell climbed from an 88 to an 89, jumping up to the third-best shooting guard in the game. So as of right now, Mitchell is the best payer on the Jazz according to NBA 2K.

That is a pretty accurate statement of how the Jazz’s season has gone so far. Until recently, Gobert has struggled on offense even when he has a mismatch on a smaller player. This still doesn’t change the fact that Rudy is the most valuable player to the Jazz, but for the first 11 games, Mitchell has played a better all-around game.

NBA 2K also took note of Mike Conley‘s slow start, moving him from an 87 to an 83. There were also slight drop-offs by one point for Joe Ingles, Ed Davis and Jeff Green‘s overall ratings.

There are a couple things the game didn’t catch, though: I’m surprised Bojan Bogdanovic‘s rating didn’t change at all. He stayed at an 83 overall rating despite scorching the league with over 20 points per game on 49/45/93 shooting splits through the games that were factored into 2K’s latest update.

Also, Royce O’Neale is still criminally underrated. He should’ve come into the season at least rated 76 overall, and it’s surprising his rating has stayed at a 73. It’s a small sample size, but so far he is shooting 66 percent from corner threes and 100 percent on assisted threes. He’s also second on the Jazz in defensive box plus/minus. He’s been one of Utah’s most dependable players, especially with all the new faces trying to learn how to play in Quin Snyder’s system.

As for notable changes to former Jazzmen around the league, Gordon Hayward got bumped up from an 80 overall to an 82. Hayward was enjoying a resurgent season looking like an All-Star before fracturing his left hand.

Derrick Favors got knocked down from an 80 to a 77. Favs has struggled getting into a groove this season, only playing in seven games and fighting knee soreness.

Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny that NBA 2K does an impressive job of re-creating the NBA on a video game. In fact, I just might have to make sure I get my own personal copy of NBA 2K20 under the Christmas tree this year.

All stats are courtesy of basketball-reference.com and ESPN.com. the player ratings were provided by 2kratings.com