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Orlando Magic’s NBA 2K19 ratings already raising questions

By Philip Rossman-Reich

PHOENIX, AZ - NOVEMBER 10: Aaron Gordon #00 (R) of the Orlando Magic high fives Nikola Vucevic #9, Terrence Ross #31 and Evan Fournier #10 after scoring against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of the NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on November 10, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - NOVEMBER 10: Aaron Gordon #00 (R) of the Orlando Magic high fives Nikola Vucevic #9, Terrence Ross #31 and Evan Fournier #10 after scoring against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of the NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on November 10, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Orlando Magic’s starters have official ratings on NBA 2K. The popular video game seems to be taking some liberties in its analysis of the Magic.

The next big day on the NBA calendar — barring any late Woj bombs — is the release of NBA 2K19. For many basketball fans, this is when the new season truly begins. Players can get their hands on the teams out there and begin to get excited for the season.

The Prelude — the My Player preview — came out Friday. Next weekend is the early preview weekend for those that ordered the Legends Edition (with LeBron James on the cover). And then Sept. 11, everyone will have access to the game to explore all of its nooks and crannies.

If it is anything like last year’s game, there will be too much to do within the course of a year.

Most fans are probably not looking forward to playing as the Orlando Magic. They are likely to be one of the worst teams in the entire game. The Magic simply are not an attractive team to play as without an established All-Star and a lot of young players — two of them who have not played a whole lot between them.

NBA 2K is about as close to the most accurate predictor we have for the season. The designers put a lot of time and thought into the player ratings and how players look and play together on the floor — Evan Fournier screenshots aside.

But the Holy Grail of the overall player rating is still the thing everyone sees. It is a statement from everyone about who is the best players in the league. It helps put everyone in their place in the league.

Magic fans are not likely to enjoy where they see the current Magic players. In fact, it seems there are a few arguments to be made about the Magic’s starters at least.

With NBA 2K19 hosting its launch party earlier this week — and The Prelude released Friday — the Magic’s default starting lineup leaked online as users posted videos from the event. The game featured the starting lineup — D.J. Augustin, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, Aaron Gordon and Mohamed Bamba — and their ratings. Take a look about 20 seconds into this video.

Aaron Gordon leads the team with an 82 rating and is the “cover” athlete, if you will, on the player selection screen. Nikola Vucevic was last year’s “cover” athlete for the Magic.

Evan Fournier got a 79, followed by Mohamed Bamba at 77, D.J. Augustin at 76 and finally Terrence Ross as a 74. The surprises here are that the game did not start Jonathan Isaac over Terrence Ross or Nikola Vucevic or Mohamed Bamba. It is not clear what their player ratings are.

But there are perhaps a few puzzling choices here.

Fournier coming in at a 79 was a bit of a surprise. Last year, he started NBA 2K18 with a 73 in MyTeam and finished as a 79 in the last update. So it seems like 2K rolled him over at the smae rating. But that 79 puts him even with Buddy Hield. Fournier led the team in scoring last year and seems like he should get a bit more respect.

The six-point increase from last year is certainly a nice bump, but it does not seem to fit his actual skill. Or compare him favorably with players who have not produced as much as he has.

Gordon got the biggest bump. He was a 76 to start last year’s game and ended the season as an 81. Settling in at 82 to start 2K 19 shows the designers or the formula they use to recognize and project Gordon to get better.

Likely fans are wondering where Jonathan Isaac is. In MyTeam, Isaac started as a 73. Considering how little he played, it does not feel likely he improved that mark very much. In fact, it feels safe he is not better than the 74 Ross posted (Ross, similarly injured, started last year at 73 too, so somehow he improved by one despite missing so much time last year).

And the Vucevic decision is also a bit curious. Last year, Vucevic started the year as a 77. He was the best player on the team to start the year in the game. He finished the year at 82. With Bamba at 77, it would appear either the game returned Vucevic to a 77 or rated him worse this year. That seems a bit harsh, and frankly a bit unrealistic.

But that is how the game is set up. The game has not released Vucevic’s official rating yet. Only that it defaults with Bamba in the starting lineup.

Finally, Augustin started last year as a 70. So he has obviously made some solid improvements over last year — although a 74 rating would not have finished in the top 50 among point guards in the game at the end of last season. He is on pace not to start the year in the top 50 of this year’s game.

Part of the oddity of last year was that it seemed several Magic players got better over the course of the year individually. NBA 2K seems to agree. The Magic have players rated better than they were throughout last year.

The question for when the games start is how the team will actually look.

Next. Orlando Magic have a defensive base to build from. dark

As for the rest of the roster? Fans will have to wait for the game to come out next week to find out.