Trae Young's NBA 2K22 rating: Justified or not?
After a sublime showing in the playoffs, Trae Young will feel a bit peeved with his rating in the upcoming NBA 2K22 game, which is released on September 12th.
With no basketball for fans to enjoy currently, attention has turned to the game and the recent announcement of player ratings. 2K Sports began releasing its ratings for the best players in the NBA on Wednesday, giving out the highest score to four stars: Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. All four will have a rating of 96 with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic close behind on 95 along with Kawhi Leonard and Joel Embiid.
Despite carrying the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, Trae Young wasn't even among the top 10 players according to the makers of NBA 2K22. In fact, his rating was 89, seven below the top stars.
In this article, we will discuss whether Trae Young's rating should be higher and why.
Trae Young jokes with NBA 2K22 creators after rating announcement
It's fair to say that Trae Young was upset with his NBA 2K22 rating and it's not the first time he's had to call out the game's creators. In NBA 2K21, Young was rated as an 87 on the game and was only bumped up by two despite the Atlanta Hawks' unprecedented run to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Had Trae Young not struggled with injuries in that series, they may well have reached the Finals. Maybe then the creators of NBA 2K22 would have rated him among the best players in the game.
As it is, Trae Young will be an 89 this year, but could easily be bumped up as the season goes on should he have another spectacular year. Indeed, 2K have downgraded 90% of the players in the upcoming release as a platform for them to upgrade their stats during the 2021-22 campaign.
The argument that 2K have gotten Trae Young's rating wrong becomes farcical when you look at his previous rating for 2K21. Although he was an 87 that year, he averaged four more points, a similar number of assists, more steals and shot at the same rate than he did in the 2020-21 season. Maybe there is cause for the 22-year-old to be frustrated by his rating.
Young is the new face of the Atlanta Hawks and has put up over 25 points and nine assists over the course of the last two seasons. He is an elite free-throw shooter and grabs more rebounds than his stature would suggest he should (3.9 per game last season). In the new NBA 2K22 game, they have at least recognized his creativity on offense, with his playmaking rated at 88 overall due to his handling being 92 and pass IQ being 94.
Young is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the game and is not afraid of the big moments as he showed in his first postseason appearance. He can at least be proud that he has made it into the Atlanta Hawks' All-Time team for NBA 2K22 as the side's sixth-best player.