NBA 2k18: 10 highest-rated players at each position

NBA 2k18 doesn’t get released until Friday, Sept. 15, but 2k Sports has already made it known who they consider the best of the best heading into the game’s new season.

With just over two weeks until launch date, 2k Sports is releasing more information about the newest incarnation of its most popular title, NBA 2k18. They have published information on who the 10 highest-rated players at each position are in order to generate buzz about the game. Fortunately for this effort, the ratings ranking provides plenty to discuss.

Speaking of discussions, there is a lot to discuss about this year’s game outside of the player ratings. 2k developer Scott O’Gallagher recently did a deep dive into the artificial intelligence improvements for the game. These include adding more variance to the positioning that defenders take depending on the game situation, and which player the defender is guarding. AI defenders will react to an isolation play with Carmelo Anthony differently than they will a similar set in which LeBron James is the action’s protagonist, for example.

This will allow AI defenders to react not only to an offensive player’s known abilities and tendencies, but be more responsive to sets that the offense is running as well. There are several more upgrades to the AI, all of which will work together to make the game much more realistic.

On that realism vein, Brian Tong of CNet examined the improved graphics which the game features. Using Pixelgun Studio technology, the motion captures created the ability for the game’s engineers to map and present the players in the game with remarkable realism.

Realism is what 2k Sports was going for in the player overall ratings as well, and though gamers might have to wait until the game drops to get full details on individual skill ratings for the players involved in these top 10 lists, plenty of conversation can be had about the overall ratings in the meantime.