The NBA 2K12 rankings are not player rankings. Their not designed to be that, they are supposed to be a measure the strengths and weaknesses of a player against what is expected out of his position.
But they become defacto player rankings in the minds of the public — and they did Dirk Nowitzki wrong.
In some leaked ratings numbers of NBA 2K12 at Dime Magazine, Nowitzki gets an 85. Not bad, certainly. All-Star level. But LeBron James got a 98 (out of 100), Dwyane Wade a 96, Kobe Bryant a 94 (is he still a 94?), Dwight Howard a 93, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose a 92. The elite players are all over 90.
Don’t you put Nowitzki in that group of elite players?
Here are the people we know with a higher rating the big German: Carmelo Anthony (91), Deron Williams (90), Amar’e Stoudemire (88), Russell Westbrook (88) and Pau Gasol (86). You think all of them are better than Nowitzki?
Nowitzki is clearly as hard for video game designers to define as he is for old school NBA scouts. Nowitzki is a power forward who plays more like a small forward, but without being as quick. Yet, his ability to get to his spots and hit a wide variety of shots makes him one of the league’s best. He has to be ranked as such.
In maybe as big an oddity, Atlanta’s Josh Smith gets an 84 and Al Horford has an 80. Al Horford has the same score as Wilson Chandler. Horford remains the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA.
The player with the lowest rating? Looks like Jason Collins with 45, reports the Basketball Jones. I’m not really going to argue that one.
