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
Wizards rating NBA 2k23 got wrong: Kristaps Porzingis Three-Point Shot: 73
Kristaps Porzingis was acquired midway through the season last year which resulted in him playing only 17 games as a member of the Washington Wizards. Still, in that sample size, he found a rhythm that had eluded him for the entirety of his season with the Dallas Mavericks.
Up until the trade, KP was shooting just 28.3 percent from behind the arc. You could see how that number alone might justify a low rating as a three-point shooter. Everything changes when you factor in how he shot over the course of the second half of the season.
With Washington, Porzingis connected on 36.7 percent of his three-point shots. That success rate is much more in line with his career average, as well. Before the beginning of last season, KP had connected on at least 35 percent of his shots from behind the arc in four straight seasons.
It seems his final half-season in Dallas was an outlier. He supported that by finding his stroke once again with the Wizards. A 73 rating isn’t awful, especially for a big man. It’s not accurate to the Latvian big man’s game, though, and NBA 2k got it wrong by rating him that low.
For context, here are a few players listed with their three-point rating (and career three-point percentage)
- Deni Avdija: 74 (31.6 percent)
- Jordan Clarkson: 74 (33.8 percent)
- Nikola Vucevic: 74 (34.8 percent)
KP is a 74 overall and has a career percentage of 35.3 percent. Given the degree of difficulty involved in a lot of his shots throughout his career on top of the sheer volume he has shot them with, it’s pretty obvious he is a tier above the listed players.
Wizards rating NBA 2k23 got wrong: Kyle Kuzma Overall: 81
When it comes to which Kyle Kuzma ratings are off, there’s a list of them. That’s why a few will be highlighted but it all leads back to one thing – His overall rating is lower than it should be.
Following his emergence both on and off the court for the Washington Wizards last season, Kuz earned an overall rating slightly higher than the 81 he received. Once you dig into specific ratings, you can easily see why his overall isn’t where it should be. Multiple mistakes throughout his ratings lead to him being underrated as an overall player.
First, we’ll start with a smaller complaint that isn’t as bad as some of the other ratings but is still quite wrong. That would be his overall defense, which grades out at 57 overall. While he remains an alright defender at best, he put in the work and effort last year to be shoed in for a higher grade than anything below the 60 marker.
The big miss on Kuzma’s ratings, though, is his playmaking score. He received a 70 overall playmaking despite the strides he took last season in getting his teammates involved on the offensive end.
As a forward that can create for others, he’s simply much better than that score indicates. Kuzma averaged a career-best 3.5 assists per game last season, facilitating on a team that was not easy to create good looks for.
Ultimately, these ratings led Kuzma to be rated a few points too low. It won’t be long before his rating is adjusted up this season.