Parker himself was rated 90, as was Manu Ginobili. The Big Fundamental was still an All-Star who was putting up numbers, but he was beginning to take a backseat to Tony Parker, which made his rating of 98 slightly questionable. The same goes for KG’s long-time rival Tim Duncan. There are a couple of other stars whose 90+ Overall Ratings in NBA 2K9 also feel just a bit too generous.Ĭover player Kevin Garnett was 97 Overall, which would’ve been appropriate a few years earlier, but wasn’t entirely appropriate for his production at that point. They’re both great players in their own right who will one day be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but never during the 2009 season – or any point in their careers, to be honest – did they earn the distinction of being rated 99 Overall in a basketball video game. It’s harder to agree with Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul both being 99 Overall, though. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were both rated 99 Overall, which you might feel like arguing against from an historical perspective, but as the league’s two brightest stars and all-time talents, it’s not unreasonable. We’re just getting warmed up though, as it’s time to talk about the 99 Overall players. Deron Williams’ 94 Overall feels exaggerated, and even Chris Bosh was arguably at least slightly overrated at 95. Devin Harris was 90 Overall (to Vince Carter’s 89), and stands as just one example of borderline stars or one-time All-Stars that were rated as though they’re among the upper echelon of players in 2009. This admittedly doesn’t look quite as outrageous when you see some of the 90+ Overall players. A further four teams had four players in the 80s, while two teams had six. These inflated ratings led to 13 teams having five players on their roster who were rated 80 or higher. Josh Smith, whose rating was often too high because of his athleticism and dunking abilities, was rated 89 Overall for comparison. Steve Nash’s Overall has always been very difficult to manage as his defensive and athletic ratings bring it down, but his rating of 88 feels low when Jose Calderon’s rating was 86. After all, it led to head-scratching comparisons to Tracy McGrady, rated 87 Overall despite coming off a much better season than any of those other players, and still deserving of good ratings across the board. It just doesn’t look right to peruse the rosters and see Greg Oden with a rating of 82, Thaddeus Young with a rating of 83, or O.J.
At the same time, the inflation made the ratings feel off, both in terms of optics, and the role that the Overall plays in trade logic in The Association. With a number of players being comfortably over 90 Overall, a rating of 82-84 was more representative of being a valuable role player than a borderline star. It was also relative when it came to the Overall Ratings in NBA 2K9. As I’ve often discussed, Overall Ratings aren’t as important as they seem, as it’s the individual ratings that ultimately govern how players perform.
This may not seem like a huge problem in and of itself. Scrolling through the rosters in NBA 2K9, you’ll notice how many players were rated 80+ Overall. With so many questionably inflated Overall Ratings in NBA 2K9, it’s worth taking a look back…way back… Now that I’ve gone through the rosters, I would agree that there are some weirdly overrated players, considering their performance during the 2009 season, and the way that Overall Ratings above 90 are usually treated (or at least were, several years ago). Once it was brought up, however, I figured I had to check it out and perhaps discuss it further in Wayback Wednesday. NBA 2K9 isn’t a game that I’ve spent too much time with over the years, and when I have fired it up, I haven’t paid too much attention to the Overall Ratings. Derek brought up the Overall Ratings in NBA 2K9, which is an example I wasn’t too familiar with. There are plenty of examples, from odd ratings in NBA Jam Tournament Edition, to the new ratings scale in NBA Live 2004 producing some weird results. In the mailbag segment of Episode #354 of the NLSC Podcast, Dee4Three and I talked about bad ratings in basketball video games throughout the years. This week, I’m taking a look back at some of the unusual Overall Ratings in NBA 2K9. You’ll also find old NLSC editorials re-published with added commentary, and other flashback content. Check in every Wednesday for retrospectives and other features on older versions of NBA Live, NBA 2K, and old school basketball video games in general. This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! In this feature, we dig into the archives, look back at the history of basketball gaming, and indulge in some nostalgia.
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