Rumored NBA 2K ratings brings blatant disrespect to Suns

Look we get it, ok? We know that NBA 2K is only a game, but it's also a game that hoopheads are going to be playing non-stop from the moment it is released until the next version comes out. We love the game, players love the game, and we get caught up in the ratings.

Which is why - despite the official ratings have not dropped yet - the rumored overalls for players and teams has been revealed. This is subject to change - but going by previous seasons - probably not all that much between now and launch date in early September.

Despite boasting three legitimate All-Stars and after a fantastic season though, the Phoenix Suns are once again being disrespected.

This is a team that won 49 regular season games in 2023-24, and followed that up by getting better around the fringes this summer. Mason Plumlee is an upgrade over Drew Eubanks, while Tyus Jones is an upgrade over everybody at the point guard position, because the Suns didn't have one last season.

Monte Morris is a lovely option at backup, while Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, Josh Okogie and even Bol Bol are back for another run with the organization. Couple that with a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer and two superstars in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant who are having wonderful summers at the Olympic Games, and that should surely be reflected in their ratings.

Right? Wrong.

Incredibly, insanely... the Suns aren't even ranked as a tier one team in the game. Yet puzzlingly, they also have the second highest rating of any team at 84. Huh? That's right, the good people at NBA 2K think that the following franchises are above the Suns, who find themselves sharing tier two with the likes of the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets.

Boston Celtics (no complaints), Cleveland Cavaliers (let's talk about that one), L.A. Clippers (they just lost Paul George?), Los Angeles Lakers (the LeBron effect), Memphis Grizzlies (this is just a joke at this point isn't it?), Miami Heat (whatever), Milwaukee Bucks (Giannis gonna Giannis), Minnesota Timberwolves (shudder), Oklahoma City Thunder (fair) and Philadelphia 76ers (we guess...)

About the only good news here is that Devin Booker's rating has supposedly risen to 95, which is about right for a superstar who continues to ascend. It's still not even the best mark on the roster though, which goes to Kevin Durant and his 96. Hard to argue with, and his performances at the Olympics have only shown us how incredible KD still is.

Jones going right in as their fifth best player - being bumped up one to an 80 overall - might even be a little generous, but Allen and O'Neale have been flat disrespected. Allen might have seen the largest supposed increase in his ratings (a whopping four points), but he's still only a 79. This for a guy who led the entire league in 3-point shooting at 46.1 percent last season.

O'Neale's 76 is even worse, and is somehow tied with Bol. Even though you know, O'Neale has proven he can play in the postseason as a legitimate "3-and-D" guy, while in year five Bol getting some run around Christmas time was seen as a massive win for his personal development. We all love Bol - truly we do he's beloved in The Valley - but this just proves they're not paying attention.

Bol being one better than Okogie is also disrespectful to a player who is capable of being borderline elite defensively on certain nights. The complete opposite to Bol, who really only excels when given license to not have to defend and instead be more of a perimeter threat on the offensive end with his unique frame.

These numbers would want to change some before the game actually comes out, because they're unfair to the Suns as things stand. Not to be a tier one team is ridiculous. There might be teams better than them in the league - at least seven of them - but being put below that again feels personal. It will make winning with them in the game all the sweeter.