Predicting Top 30 NBA Players’ NBA 2K13 Ratings

10a. Andrew Bynum: 87. (2K12 rating: 79) PER: 23.00

Speaking of big men a few steps away from getting it … Andrew Bynum finally realized the All-World potential basketball fans ascribed to him last year with a two-point bump in his PER 21.14 along with 18 points and 12 rebounds per game, all while staying, for the most part, injury-free all season long. Last year, Bynum was given a pretty fair rating since he was largely unproven, but his All-Star season has many convinced his 2K13 rating should go up significantly.

10b. Russell Westbrook: 90. (2k12 rating: 88) PER: 23.00

OK, so Russell’s PER went down from 23.63 in 2010-11, but it also saw him embrace a role he’s more comfortable with, which is scoring and attacking the basket at will. The dude scored two points more per game off of 46 percent shooting, a jump from 43 percent the year prior. He also managed to keep his turnover ratio slightly the same, and his PER likely took a hit because of his decreased amount of assists. He’s a much better scorer now, though, and was last season’s best point guard, even if you do hate him.

9. Derrick Rose: 91. (2K12 rating: 92) PER: 23.10

There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding Derrick Rose. Although his PER only went down a tad from 23.62 to 23.10, his injuries last year — and there were quite a few, and very serious ones — could become debilitating if he doesn’t address them correctly and carefully. Rose played in far less games than the average last season, due to his injuries, but he’s still very efficient, which justifies just a one-point drop-off.

8. Blake Griffin: 88. (2K12 rating: 85) PER: 23.50

So Blake Griffin managed to make the cover for NBA 2k13. Big deal. His PER jumped up almost two points from 2010-11. Big deal. Griffin still has a lot of glaring issues that he needs to address, despite him having an incredibly loyal fan-base already. A rating of 85 was a little high for my liking — 83 seemed like a better fit — but we’ll give him a nice bump in his rating to account for his stardom.

7. Manu Ginobili: 86. (2K12 rating: 85) PER: 24.18

We can’t give Manu the benefit of the doubt here; although he had a very cool PER bump from 21.78, he also played in only half the season, started in just seven games, and played just 23 minutes per game, the lowest, by far, since his rookie year. Ginobili is this year’s poster-boy for  showing how flawed the PER — a per-minute stat — can be. He did have a nice playoff run, though, and for that, we’ll give him a one-point bump.

6. Dwight Howard: 90. (2K12 rating: 92) PER: 24.29

Howard had a pretty significant drop in his PER from 26.13 in 2010-11, so it’s only fair that he gets bumped down in his NBA 2K ratings. He also didn’t shoot as well from the field compared to last year, scored less, and had a 49 percent — 49 percent! — free throw percentage, the lowest of his career. Plus, he showed that he is, indeed, human, and suffered his first major injury with a herniated disk, causing him to miss the last 12 games of the season and the remainder of the 2012 NBA playoffs.

5. Kevin Love: 89. (2K12 rating: 81) PER: 25.41

To these eyes, Kevin Love was horribly underrated in 2K12, given the fact that 20/15 machine in 2010-11, had a PER of 24.39 that year, while also having a 30-point/30-rebound game. I realize that I may have a UCLA bias, but 81 is still pretty low. This year, he should get some vindication with a small bump in PER and monstruous averages of 26 points and 13 rebounds. No one considered Love to be a serious contender for MVP, but if he were putting these numbers up on a playoff team, we might’ve heard different. Vindication!

4. Kevin Durant: 96. (2K12 rating: 92) PER: 26.26

Durant proved that he will, at some point, become the NBA’s MVP and could very well be chasing some records in scoring when his career hits its twilight. His PER went up almost three points, he took his team to the NBA Finals, and he was the league’s leading scorer, while also looking damn near unstoppable against arguably the best defender this league has in LeBron James. We don’t want to put Durant on too much of a pedestal because he’s so young, so a 96 will suffice for now.

3. Dwyane Wade: 95. (2K12 rating: 96) PER: 26.37

Wade may have had a higher PER this year compared to the year prior, but he also missed 17 games in a lockout-shortened, 66-game season, while also playing less minutes — 33 per game — than he did in 2010-11 (37.1 minutes per game). Wade didn’t drop off a bit, though, except in the NBA Finals, and when you start talking about ratings in the high 90s, point drops have to come easier (right?). Besides, is 95 really that much lower than 96?

2. Chris Paul: 97. (2K12 rating: 93) PER: 27.09

CP3’s PER jumped up nearly four points from the 2010-11 season, which is due to having far more talent around him with the L.A. Clippers as opposed to the New Orleans Hornets. Paul also shot a ridiculous-for-a-perimeter-player 48 percent from the field (up from 46 percent) while also scoring four more points with 19.8 (vs. 15.8 in 2010-11). He was deservedly underrated last year, because then we wouldn’t be able to show such a marked improvement in 2K13. (OK, maybe not their rational, but who cares?)

1. LeBron James: 100. (2K12 rating: 98) PER: 30.8

I know, I know. They don’t give out 100 ratings, but NBA 2K13 should break the unwritten rule that no athlete should be given more than a 99 in a video game, and only for LeBron James, because this dude — love him or hate him; I, personally, hate him — is freaking ridiculous, bumping up his PER three points from 27! He had career-highs in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and rebounds per game, while also getting that damn monkey off his back by winning an NBA title. Give the dude some love, even if I say this with clinching teeth.