Predicting Top 30 NBA Players’ NBA 2K13 Ratings
20. Dirk Nowitzki: 85. (2k12 rating: 85) PER: 21.81
Dirk Nowitzki was robbed last season with a rating of 85, which was good enough for a tie with guys like Andre Iguodala and Josh Smith (yuck). So we’re going to keep Dirk at the same level, despite the fact that he dropped off significantly in production (his 2011 PER was 23.52, and his previous Player Efficiency Ratings were damn close to that, while he shot a career-low 45.7 percent from the field). Dirk’s NBA championship, his efficiency and his performance in the playoffs earned him at least an 89 rating, so we’ll pretend there was a four-point drop-off here.
19. Paul Millsap: 83. (2K12 rating: 80) PER: 21.85
Millsap was considered criminally overrated by NBA 2K12 goers and they may have a case: He had a PER of 19.83 last season, which is very respectable, but certainly not what you’d expect from a guy who’s rated an 80. However, in 2012, Millsap not only justified that rating, but raised it a little with a two-point bump in PER while getting close the same amount of minutes at 33 per game.
18. Kenneth Faried: 74. (2K12 rating: 70) PER: 21.94
Kenneth Faried — the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft — was given a pretty high rating for someone picked that low in what is considered a very shallow draft at 70. However, he managed to back that with just under eight rebounds and ten points off of 59 percent shooting. Sure, he rarely took shots except for close to the rim, but he played smart and hustled hard.
17. Kobe Bryant: 87. (2K12 rating: 94) PER: 21.95
Kobe shouldn’t have been rated so high — he was the third best player in 2K12 — but it likely came as a result of his incredibly insane fan-base. (Hey, I’m a Lakers fan, chill.) Regardless, Kobe should see a stark drop-off in 2K13 as a result of his lowest shooting percentage in his career (at 43 percent) and his higher-than-normal turnover ratio.
16. Tony Parker: 83. (2K12 rating: 80) PER: 22.04
Tony Parker’s gone through a rough few seasons prior to the 2012 season, but Parker was brilliant last season. He was the Spurs’ primary playmaker and had a career-high assist rate last year, and had a nice bump in PER from 20.44 in 2010-11. His loyalty may also have recovered.
15. Greg Monroe: 81. (2K12 rating: 65) PER: 22.09
Monroe was criminally underrated in NBA 2K12, despite having a higher PER than DeMarcus Cousins and shooting much more efficiently than his fellow 2010 NBA draftee. Finally, though, Monroe proved he must be rated higher than Cousins now that he played a more important role in Detroit’s offense. His PER took a nice jump from 18.07, though his rating didn’t justify his efficiency in 2K12.
14. Tim Duncan: 84. (2K12 rating: 84) PER: 22.60
Duncan had a higher PER last season than in 2010-11, but not by much. What’s impressive, though, is that Duncan played just 0.2 minutes less per game, meaning he’s pretty consistent over the past two seasons. For that reason, we’ll stand pat on Duncan’s ratings.
13. LaMarcus Aldridge: 86. (2K12 rating: 83) PER: 22.73
LMA had a bump in his PER, up from 21.57 in 2010-11. He also shot at a slightly higher percentage while playing less minutes and scoring nearly the same amount of points per game. He’s only 26, too, and he’s established himself as one of the best power forwards in the game. We’ll gladly give him a 3-point bump in his 2K ratings, because he should’ve been higher in 2K12.
12. Al Jefferson: 85. (2k12 rating: 81) PER: 22.88
Jefferson still seems like he’s just a few steps from getting it, which is why he isn’t talked about as a top-tier center in the NBA. He has the stats — he’s got a 22.8 PER up from 20.20, and averages nearly ten boards per game to go along with 19 points per game — but he’s a liability defensively. That said, 81 is far too low for a guy like Jefferson. A four-point bump seems absolutely fair here.
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