The latest installment of 2K Games’ NBA video game, NBA2K25, reignited the usual debate about player ratings. This peaked when NBA superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, voiced his displeasure over his 97 rating directly to the face of the NBA 2K franchise, Ronnie 2K.
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The situation came to light during Ronnie’s appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show. Early in the podcast, the host, Stephen A. Smith, asked him if any NBA players had reached out to express frustration over their ratings.
Ronnie recounted how Antetokounmpo was the one to do so this time. However, he felt the Milwaukee Bucks star might have done it to distract himself from the stress of his upcoming wedding. Ronnie empathized with the 8-time All-Star, recalling,
“This year, it was Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. I was kinda surprised. I was like, ‘You’re 97. You’re getting married this week. What’s going on? You’re the third highest-rated player in NBA 2k25. You should feel pretty good about that’. But you know, if I could get his mind off his wedding for a few days and if he needed that distraction, I got married too, so I know how that is.”
Antetokounmpo tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Mariah Riddlesprigger, in Greece last weekend. The couple share three children and have been together for over a decade. Yet, the stress of such a life-altering event likely took a toll on the Bucks star. Venting about his NBA 2K25 rating may have been his way of escaping it.
Still, this didn’t fully justify Antetokounmpo’s frustration. For context, Ronnie explained how developers considered around 30 different player attributes to determine the ratings. These broadly fell into two categories – core performance, like free throw shooting and blocks, and less tangible aspects, such as basketball IQ and awareness.
Although Antetokounmpo has mastered the less tangible aspects, his core performance holds him back. For instance, the 29-year-old has ongoing struggles at the free-throw line. Last season, he ranked among the bottom five in this category after managing just 65.7%. His shooting range is another weak spot. His career three-point percentage of 27.3% reflects this.
Smith pointed to these two factors while discussing Antetokounmpo’s rating. However, he used those to question whether the Bucks star truly deserved to be tied with Nikola Jokić and Luka Doncic as the highest-rated players in the game.
“I love Giannis and I know he is a superstar and I know he is a very impactful player. The flip side to that however he does have trouble with his free throw shooting, he has a limited perimeter shot… So, how can he be tied with Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokić for the highest score in your ranking when he has got those two liabilities to his game?”
This argument is somewhat unjustified. Despite his shooting struggles, there’s no doubt about Antetokounmpo’s dominance under and around the rim. He showcased these strengths last season by averaging the second-highest points (30.4) and the sixth-highest rebounds per game (11.5) in the league.
Additionally, the Greek Freak managed a historic feat in the 2023-24 season, while not receiving a lot of publicity for it. His season average of 30.4 points per game came at a stunning efficiency, with the 2x MVP shooting a whopping 61.1% from the field.
The Bucks’ talisman remains a fairly rated NBA star in this game, as he is comfortably one of the three best players in the world. However, opinions always vary, and Antetokounmpo has every right to feel slighted by the video game manufacturer.
