NBA 2K17, the newest iteration of the popular NBA video game, is scheduled to be released on Friday, just in time for the start of training camp. As is tradition, some of the overall player ratings for the latest edition have already made their way around the internet, as the folks at 2K typically release ratings for big name players and those who are interested enough to ask for their ratings via Twitter. But that’s still a relatively small number of players, and those are just the overall ratings, not the more detailed breakdown of attributes that make up a players’ overall rating. But it’s hard to keep anything completely under wraps these days, and that’s especially true when advanced copies are sent out prior to the public release, as is the case with NBA 2K17. So thanks to someone going by the name “Black Haven” on YouTube, we have initial, detailed rankings for Portland’s Top 8 players — Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Mason Plumlee, Al-Farouq Aminu, Evan Turner, Ed Davis, Festus Ezeli and Allen Crabbe. As you might expect, Lillard’s 89 rating is tops on the team, followed by McCollum with an 83 rating. Plumlee, Aminu, Turner, Davis, Ezeli and Crabbe all get overall ratings in the mid to upper 70s, with there only being three points separating Portland’s third-best player (Plumlee) from their eighth-best (Crabbe). Have a look…
DAMIAN LILLARD (athletic playmaker)OVERALL: 89CLOSE: 72MID OPEN: 83MID CONT: 75MID MOVE: 823PT OPEN: 893PT CONT: 693PT MOVE: 88SHTIQ: 98FT: 89STLAY: 94LAYUP: 90CDUNK: 35STDUNK: 25DUNK: 85
CJ MCCOLLUMOVERALL: 83CLOSE: 85MID OPEN: 90MID CONT: 89MID MOVE: 843PT OPEN: 943PT CONT: 743PT MOVE: 92SHTIQ: 88FT: 83STLAY: 88LAYUP: 82CDUNK: 30STDUNK: 30DUNK: 40
MASON PLUMLEEOVERALL: 78CLOSE: 70MID OPEN: 71MID CONT: 34MID MOVE: 253PT OPEN: 253PT CONT: 253PT MOVE: 25SHTIQ: 88FT: 64STLAY: 81LAYUP: 59CDUNK: 45STDUNK: 80DUNK: 80
AL-FAROUQ AMINUOVERALL: 77CLOSE: 63MID OPEN: 79MID CONT: 69MID MOVE: 583PT OPEN: 803PT CONT: 723PT MOVE: 52SHTIQ: 85FT: 74STLAY: 72LAYUP: 68CDUNK: 40STDUNK: 55DUNK: 70
EVAN TURNER OVERALL: 77 CLOSE: 85 MID OPEN: 83 MID CONT: 82 MID MOVE: 81 3PT OPEN: 64 3PT CONT: 48 3PT MOVE: 41 SHTIQ: 82 FT: 83 STLAY: 88 LAYUP: 82 CDUNK: 40 STDUNK: 40 DUNK: 63
ED DAVISOVERALL: 77CLOSE: 92MID OPEN: 52MID CONT: 25MID MOVE: 253PT OPEN: 253PT CONT: 253PT MOVE: 25SHTIQ: 74FT: 56STLAY: 84LAYUP: 60CDUNK: 40STDUNK: 75DUNK: 69
FESTUS EZELIOVERALL: 76CLOSE: 64MID OPEN: 45MID CONT: 25MID MOVE: 253PT OPEN: 253PT CONT: 253PT MOVE: 25SHTIQ: 85FT: 53STLAY: 94LAYUP: 74CDUNK: 35STDUNK: 70DUNK: 52
ALLEN CRABBEOVERALL: 75CLOSE: 90MID OPEN: 88MID CONT: 81MID MOVE: 773PT OPEN: 893PT CONT: 643PT MOVE: 54SHTIQ: 84FT: 87STLAY: 78LAYUP: 79CDUNK: 35STDUNK: 35DUNK: 45
A few things…— I don’t see any ratings pertaining to defense or ball handling, which has not been the case in past iterations of the game, so it’s possible these are not all of the detailed ratings. We’ll obviously know more once the game comes out on Friday. — Damian Lillard is the only player whose player type, in his case, “athletic playmaker,” was shown on the leaked roster page. — 2K17 is real bullish on CJ McCollum’s shooting from all areas of the court, and for good reason. The same could be said, albeit to a lesser extent, about Al-Farouq Aminu, whose three-point shooting improved considerably last season. — Ed Davis, who shot 61 percent from the field last season, scoffs at only getting a 40 rating on contested dunks, or at least I assumed he’d scoff if he knew about his rating or cared about such things, which I’m all but certain he doesn’t. — I’m not entirely certain on what SHTIQ, which I assume translates to “shot IQ,” pertains to, but whatever it is, Damian Lillard much be really good at it with a 98 ratings. — Evan Turners reputation as a mid-range shooter seems to be accurately reflected in his shooting ratings.