"They're trolling him; they just want him to tweet it and get upset about it" - ESPN analyst reacts to Kevin Durant and his rant about NBA 2K23 ratings
Kevin Durant made headlines earlier this week for showing his disappointment about his NBA 2K23 rating. Durant was unhappy with his 96 overall rating, saying that he should have been a 99. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne has reacted to Durant's rant on Twitter.
On "NBA Today" on ESPN, Shelburne said that 2K sports is just trolling Durant. She noted that the video game franchise wanted to get a reaction from the Brooklyn Nets superstar. NBA 2K23 has a scheduled release date on Friday.
"I think they're trolling him," Shelburne said. "They just want him to tweet it and get upset about it, right?"
Meanwhile, Brian Windhorst thinks Durant has been rated correctly by NBA 2K. Windhorst pointed out that Giannis Antetokounmpo deserves his 97 rating, while Durant is on par with Steph Curry, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic.
"On the court, I don't feel Kevin Durant has any weaknessess," Windhorst said. "If your par is to that you got to be higher than Giannis at 97, I don't think 96 is an insult. But I also don't see why most of those guys should be at 99. That's my amateur opinion on the 2K ratings."
It should be noted that it's not the first Durant has been unhappy with his 2K ratings. He had the same sentiment after last year's edition, where he was rated 96 overall.
"I work extremely hard. I can make shots from all over the floor," Durant said. "I'm a solid passe. I think I'm a great passer, a great rebounder. I pretty much do everything great. That's why I should be a 99."
To be fair, only five players in NBA 2K history have had a 99 overall rating as an active player. They are LeBron James, Bryant himself, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul. Shaquille O'Neal had a 100 overall rating in NBA 2K2 two decades ago.
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Kevin Durant is not only player unhappy with their NBA 2K23 ratings
Kevin Durant is not the only player who was disappointed with their NBA 2K23 rating.
Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors also blasted 2K Sports for giving him an 88 three-point rating. Even though that rating is behind Steph Curry's 99, Thompson is tied with Durant, Desmond Bane and Luke Kennard.
The four-time champion wants his respect, as he's one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. He called people from 2K Sports "bums" while praising EA Sports for their Madden franchise.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown was not thrilled with his 87 player rating too. He had a great season for the Boston Celtics, so he feels he deserved to have a higher overall. Brown's teammate, Jayson Tatum, has an overall rating of 93 and is among the highest-rated in the game.
The cover athletes for NBA 2K23 are Devin Booker, Michael Jordan and J. Cole. Booker is the cover for the Standard and Digital Deluxe Edition, while Jordan returns for the Michael Jordan and Championship Edition. J. Cole graces the cover of the Dreamer Edition.