Utah Jazz: Predicting every starter’s NBA 2K22 rating
Utah Jazz starting point guard: Mike Conley Jr.
Predicted NBA 2K22 rating: 82
Maybe the credit goes to modern sports medicine, but point guards in today’s NBA are making a habit of defying the still-undefeated Father Time. As a result, Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and the Utah Jazz’s Mike Conley Jr. all earned substantial contracts this offseason.
Nonetheless, consider this a gamble that 2K will bake a pinch of age-related decline into Conley Jr.’s rating in the next version of their game. Conley started 2K21 with an 84 overall, and realistically did nothing throughout the 2020-21 season to deserve a decreased rating. His counting stats of 16.2 points, 6.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game are reflective of a heady floor general who is capable of running the offense or deferring to his backcourt mate and spacing the floor.
Still, Conley is approaching his age 34 season. As mentioned, NBA 2K strives to achieve basketball simulation, and so it incorporates age-related decline into its ratings. Conley Jr. absolutely has an opportunity to defy those expectations again. The ratings in 2K are themselves living organisms, subject to change as the real-life NBA season marches forward.
In other words: Utah Jazz fans should be hoping that Conley Jr. forces 2K to restore his 84 rating, at a minimum. He’ll receive solid ratings across the board as a lethal three-point threat (41.2% on 6.6 attempts per game last season), smart playmaking and solid defensive instincts.
Next. Schedule-makers finally show franchise some respect. dark
However, as an athletically limited, aging floor general, Conley Jr. may fight an uphill battle to receive a rating that fairly reflects his value. Call him underrated: it’s certainly a label he’s worn before.