Rockets star James Harden ranks third in NBA 2K21 player ratings

Among top players whose ratings have been released, Harden edges out Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and Luka Doncic.

The next-gen edition of NBA 2K21 on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X will be released in early November, and 2K is now rolling out updated player ratings for the upcoming 2020-21 NBA season.

Due to COVID-19’s disruption of the usual NBA calendar, next season isn’t likely to begin on the court until at least late December. Nonetheless, that delay isn’t expected to affect the video game industry.

While NBA 2K21 has not released entire rosters just yet, ratings for many of the league’s elite players have leaked this week. Among those, Houston Rockets star James Harden (96) currently has the game’s No. 3 overall rating. Only LeBron James (98) of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo (97) of the Milwaukee Bucks are higher.

Players are rated across numerous categories on a 1 to 100 scale. Recent All-Stars who are just behind Harden include Golden State’s Steph Curry (95); Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant (95); Portland’s Damian Lillard (95); Dallas’ Luka Doncic (94); and Miami’s Jimmy Butler (93).

Ratings for the rest of Houston’s current roster have yet to be released.

Harden averaged 34.3 points, 7.5 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game last season, and he joined Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players to ever lead the NBA in points and steals in the same season. He shot 44.4% from the field and 35.5% on 3-pointers.

With that scoring average, Harden became just the fourth player since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976 to win a scoring title in three straight years, joining Durant, Michael Jordan, and George Gervin.

Harden also won the NBA’s scoring title in the 2018-19 season, when he averaged 36.1 points per game, and in the 2017-18 season (30.4 points). Harden is now just the third player in league history to average more than 34 points per game in multiple seasons, joining a pair of Basketball Hall of Famers in Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

Harden is the only NBA player to have been an MVP finalist and an All-NBA First Team member in each of the last four seasons. He won the league’s MVP award in 2018.

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