Utah Jazz's 'Most Insulting' NBA 2K25 Rating Revealed

The Utah Jazz caught some disrespect in the latest edition of NBA 2K.

Mar 25, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) drives against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

With the yearly release of NBA 2K coming in this past week, we've finally got a chance to look at this season's fresh player ratings across the league.

While a majority of these player grades end up as a decently accurate representation of the talent in the NBA, there inevitably ends up being a few misses in the analysis of how good some guys actually may be. It's especially true in the case of the Utah Jazz, who got a controversial ranking on one of their top contributors in 2K25.

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes recently pointed out a few notable discrepancies in the game, as he dubbed Lauri Markkanen's 86 overall as the "most insulting" rating on the entire Jazz roster-- saying that the rank effectively puts him into a tier of players who "simply aren't on his level":

"Hopefully Lauri Markkanen's new contract helps with his hurt feelings, because he's got to be stinging after netting an 86 overall that puts him in a tier of players who simply aren't on his level. The 7-foot forward is coming off yet another stellar year with the Utah Jazz, complete with a 23.1 points-per-game average on a 48.0/39.9/89.9 shooting split... And yet his 86 overall matches that of Franz Wagner, who shot 28.1 percent from three last year, and Dejounte Murray, who has never scored nearly as efficiently as Markkanen... 86 just isn't good enough to reflect what Markkanen, one of the top offensive threats in the entire league, brings to the table."

- Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report

It may be his place on a rebuilding Jazz roster that doesn't allow Markkanen to get the respect he deserves, but regardless, it's hard to place him into the same conversations as players like Murray and Wagner.

A more justified placement may be a spot in the high 80s-- the same area All-Star talents like Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Maxey are in. While Markkanen didn't quite get an All-Star nod during his most recent 2023-24 campaign, he's a guy that frequently has a chance to get that selection and will continue to the sooner Utah vaults back into a competitive roster.

On the bright side for Markkanen, with the right play this season, he has an easy case to get this rating boosted where it's supposed to be as the year progresses.

Markkanen and the Jazz will get their upcoming season kicked off in just over a month, with Utah's season opener coming against the Memphis Grizzlies on October 23rd.

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