Inside The Wizards

NBA 2K25 Player Ratings: No Wizards Crack The Top 65

Less than two weeks from its official release on Sept. 6, NBA 2K25 revealed its player ratings list on Monday. Unfortunately, you have to look down the list quite far to find a Wizard.

Tom Brew

Mar 21, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) drives to the basket as Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) defends during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) drives to the basket as Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) defends during the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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Less than two weeks from the highly anticipated Sept. 6 release of NBA 2K25, the video game concluded its day-by-day reveal of the top 100 NBA 2K player ratings. According to NBA 2K25's Twitter post, here are the top 10 players to begin the 2024-25 season on NBA 2K25.

No. 1: Nikola Jokic — 97 overall

Fresh off his third MVP in four seasons and a Steph Curry three-point show from upsetting the United States in the Summer Olympics, Nikola Jokic is the best player in NBA 2K25.

Last season, Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game for a Denver Nuggets squad that finished the regular season 57-25 en route to a two-seed in the Western Conference. The unicorn of a big man is a six-time NBA All-Star, six time All-NBA member, three-time MVP, and 2023 NBA Finals MVP.

For the second consecutive season, Jokic is NBA 2K's highest-ranked player.

No. 2: Luka Doncic — 97 overall

Fellow European NBA star Luka Doncic joins Jokic at 97 overall, though he ranks a couple of points behind the Nuggets center in player attributes.

Last season, Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 48.7 percent shooting from the field and 38.2 percent from three. He scored a career-high 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks.

Year over year, Doncic rose from No. 7 to No. 2.

No. 3: Giannis Antetokounmpo — 97 overall

The third NBA superstar to net a 97 overall rating is Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis played in 73 regular-season games before a left calf strain ended his season and the Bucks' playoff chances. That said, he put up incredible numbers in 2023-24.

In his 11th season in the NBA, Giannis became the first player in NBA history to average 30-plus points on 60% shooting. He finished the regular season averaging 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. For a second consecutive season, he averaged 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists a game — a standard achieved only seven other times in NBA history.

He also set a career high with 64 points scored in a home win against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 13. A year ago with the NBA 2K24 release, Antetokounmpo was the No.2-ranked player.

No. 4: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — 96 overall

Perhaps nobody has increased their stock over the past few seasons as Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game on 53.5 percent shooting from the field. He was runner-up to Jokic in the 2024 MVP voting.

His play helped the Thunder secure the one-seed in the tough Western Conference during the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Because of his leadership and on-court production last season leading one of the youngest teams in the NBA, Gilgeous-Alexander is properly given his flowers coming in as the fourth-rated player in NBA 2K25.

No. 5: Joel Embiid — 96 overall

Despite appearing in only 39 regular-season games, Embiid still showcased his versatility as one of the game's top big men.

Embiid put up monster numbers. He averaged 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. His best scoring night came against Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs when he set a franchise record with 70 points.

No. 6-10: LeBron James, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Anthon Davis

The final five players ranked in the top 10 of NBA 2K25's release are:

  • No. 6 LeBron James — 95 overall
  • No. 7 Stephen Curry — 95 overall
  • No. 8 Jayson Tatum — 95 overall
  • No. 9 Kevin Durant — 94 overall
  • No. 10 Anthony Davis — 94 overall

So there's the who's who of the NBA. Unfortunately for the Washington franchise and fans, you won't find a Wizard until you come across Kyle Kuzma all the way down at No. 66.

Are there 65 players in the NBA better than Kuzma? Debatable, but that's how the folks at 2K see it.

Last year, Kuzma averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He also shot just under 34% from three-point range. With numbers like that, on a team where he is focal point No. 1, 2 and 3, ranking him at No. 66 in the NBA seems too low. Still, he and the Wizards could only muster 15 wins last season, so it's hard to pound the table in his defense.

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

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