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Peachtree Hoops: Peeking at Atlanta’s ‘NBA 2K20’ ratings


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Utah Jazz v Atlanta HawksPhoto by Jasear Thompson/NBAE via Getty Images

The popular game projects what the Hawks might look like.

Following this past weekend’s release of NBA 2K20, this year’s installment of the annual NBA gaming franchise, many have discussed player ratings (full list here) and how they stack up when compared to actual, on-court performance. As such, we’ll take a mini-dive into the Atlanta Hawks’ roster on the game, and compare it to some of the others around the league.

Lots of hype has surrounded the Hawks this summer and, to no one’s surprise, Trae Young and John Collins lead the way with ratings of 85 and 84, respectively.

Here’s the entire list:

  • Trae Young (85)
  • John Collins (84)
  • Jabari Parker (78)
  • Alex Len (77)
  • De’Andre Hunter (77)
  • Kevin Huerter (76)
  • Cam Reddish (75)
  • Damian Jones (75)
  • Chandler Parsons (74)
  • Evan Turner (73)
  • Vince Carter (73)
  • DeAndre Bembry (73)
  • Allen Crabbe (73)
  • Bruno Fernando (71)
  • Ray Spalding (69)
  • Brandon Goodwin (68)

Young received a favorable rating, as other point guards in the 84-87 range include Kyle Lowry (85), De’Aaron Fox (86), Chris Paul (85), John Wall (86), D’Angelo Russell (87), Eric Bledsoe (85) and Jamal Murray (84). Putting Young in this group certainly inspires lofty expectations this season, and reflects the way he ended his rookie season more than how he played in the first ~50 games of his career.

In addition, Collins came in with a solid rating as he enters his third season in the league. Other power forward options in his range include Lamarcus Aldridge (87), Pascal Siakam (87), Draymond Green (86), Marvin Bagley III (83), Jaren Jackson Jr. (82), Kevin Love (83), Lauri Markkanen (83), Al Horford (85), Julius Randle (83), Kyle Kuzma (84), Danilo Gallinari (83), Paul Millsap (82!!!???), and rookie Zion Williamson (81). Seeing the Atlanta big man so closely linked with some of the better power forwards in the game is a pleasant sight and should make the Hawks a more enjoyable team to use than in recent seasons.

Other interesting takeaways from the preseason ratings employed by NBA 2K20 were the fact that Parker is listed as the third best player on the roster, ahead of Huerter, Hunter and Len. Based on last season, that is somewhat surprising, and personally it would be surprise if he’s ever the third best player on the roster for the Hawks. Huerter, Len and maybe even Hunter would all be higher than Parker for me going into the season. It must be noted that Huerter and Hunter could very well surpass his rating on the game at some point in the season if they perform well, as the rosters are updated throughout the season based on the players actual performance on the court, and rookies/sophomores are probably more prone to a rapid rating adjustment than anyone else.

Frankly, Huerter should be at least a 78 or 79, with room to grow if he comes out how many expect him to this season. By the end of the year, he should be a solid starting two guard and one of the better shooters around the league, delivering gravity with high-volume shooting from distance. Huerter’s three-point rating should rise to be among the best on the game by the end of his second professional season.

Other notes would be Damian Jones rating of 75 seeming high based on other guys like Kent Bazemore, Mike Scott, George Hill, Tomas Satoransky, and Luke Kennard receiving the same mark. In conjunction, the 73 rating given to Evan Turner seems too low. He played legitimate minutes for a playoff team last season, and while his offensive game leaves something to be desired, he’s a quality NBA defender who can handle the ball. He’s at least a 76 or 77 based on what he meant to that Portland team last season.

Chandler Parsons (74) rating means next to nothing currently, as he hasn’t played much in recent memory, but the rating will probably be representative of the value they provide in the NBA this season. Vince Carter’s rating of 73 is probably fair, because he a basketball IQ and shooting acumen worthy of a 90 rating or higher, while physically he obviously has little to offer compared to the average NBA power forward at this point.

With little data to go on, Two-Way guard Brandon Goodwin (68) and Exhibit 10 big man Ray Spalding (69) received relatively low ratings. This falls in line with how NBA 2K rates these types of players around the league. With only an outside shot at significant playing time (or even making the roster in Spalding’s case), it will be fairly tough for these guys to improve their rating this season.

It’s not difficult to make the assertion that this could be the most fun Atlanta Hawks roster deployed on an NBA 2K game in sometime, if not ever. Despite featuring a 60-win team four years ago, one could argue a roster with two budding stars is more fun to play with than one stacked with quality players the way that 2015 team was constructed. If you’re an NBA 2K fanatic as well as a Hawks fan, NBA 2K20 is worth a purchase and the game is always a talking point around the league.

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