It isn’t easy to determine a rating for a rookie who hasn’t played in the NBA, but rookie superstar Victor Wembanyama is already breaking the mold.
We took a look at how Wembanyama compares to every other rookie in the video game for the past decade or so. We chose the top-24 players because it’s NBA 2K24 and Kobe Bryant, who wore No. 24, is on the cover.
Using the HoopsHype database, we were able to sort through every rookie rating in NBA 2K since NBA 2K10. These were the rankings for each player as they first entered the game.
It is worth noting that due to the lockout, NBA 2K12 did not include any of the rookie class (e.g. Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard) when the game was first released. Even once they were added to the game, however, none had a high enough rating to make this list.
Some honorable mentions whose debut ratings just barely missed the cut for our list and were rated a 77 include Anthony Edwards (2K21), Trae Young (2K19), Jayson Tatum (2K18) and Andrew Wiggins (2K15).
Meanwhile, some players who did not come close but have had tremendous professional careers include Nikola Jokic (68), Pascal Siakam (67), Giannis Antetkounmpo (60) and Rudy Gobert (52). So an original NBA 2K rating is not always the best indicator for future success in the NBA.
For what it is worth, the mean/median/mode for a rookie in NBA 2K since 2009 is between 71 and 72. So the following players who began their pro careers with a 77 or higher deserve some quick praise: