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NBA 2K14 is set for release on Tuesday, October 1st--coincidentally, the first day of training camp for the Orlando Magic--and Operation Sports has released ratings for all of the players in the game. Magic fans who like to play as their team may be surprised at how Orlando's ratings, embedded in this post, shake out.
In art as in life, Orlando doesn't have an overly talented team. In fact, its biggest offseason addition, second overall Draft choice Victor Oladipo, could prove to be its best overall player. NBA 2K14 rates the Indiana product a 76 overall, tying him with veterans Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson for the team lead.
Though the NBA 2K franchise likes to tout its realism, it's hard to be fully on-board with a game which rates Tobias Harris as less effective on both ends of the floor than Hedo Türkoğlu, or which considers Andrew Nicholson a mediocre offensive player.
Magic fans will also want to tweak some players' positions before playing the game for real. Oladipo will assuredly play point guard in his rookie season, but 2K Sports has labeled him strictly a shooting guard. Other potential fixes include swapping Harris' primary and secondary positions and allowing Maurice Harkless to play shooting guard as a secondary position.
In fairness to 2K Sports, it's hard to judge these raw numbers outside the context of the game for which they were devised. Still, the ratings should give pause to gamers hoping for a true sim experience.
Some fodder for discussion:
Do you plan to play NBA 2K14? What changes, if any, will you make to the rosters? Which rating in the table embedded above strikes you as the most accurate? The least accurate? Let's hear your takes in the comments.