NBA 2k23 has released its ratings for the upcoming season and naturally, there was a lot to take away from the player evaluations. That is especially true regarding the Washington Wizards, who are among the more unpredictable teams entering the 2022-23 NBA season.
Whether it be players jumping into expanded roles, young players fighting for minutes or simply pieces fitting together, a lot surrounding Washington is very hard to predict right now. There’s a new duo taking over the backcourt responsibilities, multiple young wings looking to prove themselves and a super maxed former all-star looking to find a way to finally win in Washington.
With that being said, the ratings for 2K managed to get a couple of the simple things wrong in regards to the Wizards player rankings. We’re going to present the mistakes and explain why the current ratings are off.
Wizards rating NBA 2k23 got wrong: Deni Avdija Defending: 70
Deni Avdija has a ton of tools on the court and is the kind of player that could be an X-Factor on a good team for many years. While he continues to be a work in progress, a few of his tools have taken effect enough to bring great value.
One of those skill sets would be his defensive abilities. Avdija really took a step forward on the defensive end last year and became one of the few plus players on that end for the Wizards. It became clear that he was an impact player night in and night out on the defensive end of the court.
That’s why this rating by NBA 2k23 can’t get the stamp of approval. A 70 overall defensive rating is giving no respect to what Avdija showed he could do last season.
Avdija held opponents he was defending to 43.5 percent shooting from the field. That’s an already impressive number before you factor in how little help there was around him for most of his minutes on the court.
He’s become quite versatile in terms of who he can defend and how he can affect them. His length and size especially force opponents to shoot poorly from the outside when he is the nearest defender.
On a team with little defense, Avdija didn’t get the props he deserves here