NBA 2K23: Breaking down the former Kentucky player ratings

Happy NBA 2K23 Release Weekend to all those who celebrate. This year’s rendition of basketball’s premiere video game features Kentucky’s own Devin Booker on the cover. He joins Anthony Davis as the only other former Kentucky player to earn this prestigious honor.

Booker is an avid gamer, not to mention one of the best players in the NBA, so he’s a perfect fit to grace the cover of NBA 2K. During the pandemic when ESPN reduced itself to broadcasting players playing NBA2K against each virtually, it was Devin Booker who took down his teammate, Deandre Ayton, to win the championship.

Booker, whose overall rating is 91, is Kentucky’s top-rated player in NBA 2K23 just edging out Anthony Davis (90) and Karl-Anthony Towns (89).

In total, 35 former Wildcats made the initial launch of current NBA players, including a few available in free agency. More than a handful of their ratings leaked out in the last week or so, but some of those turned out to be more scuttlebutt than scoop. Now, the official ratings are here for our critical analysis.

Kentucky players rated surprisingly high

While we can squabble about a point or two here and there, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns’ ranking as the top-3 Kentucky players is no surprise. However, the next tier down features a few players worthy of a Rock-quality eyebrow raise.

Most notably, Philadelphia’s favorite young talent, Tyrese Maxey (85 overall rating), took a huge jump from last season, jumping five points from where he started in 2K22. He is a star in the making.

Tyler Herro (84 overall) also found himself rated higher than the average onlooker may have guessed. He ranks alongside max-contract guards, De’Aaron Fox and Jamal Murray, the latter of whom is setting aim for a big comeback season this year. To compare Herro to non-Kentucky players, his 84 overall rating ranks him higher than the likes of Ben Simmons, Lonzo Ball, and Klay Thompson to name a few.

Oft-injured yet athletic role player, Jarred Vanderbilt, also landed with a higher-than-expected rating of 78. That puts him one point higher than emerging sharpshooter, Immanuel Quickley, and on par with PJ Washington. The Utah Jazz may have gotten a steal by acquiring the man they call Vando in the Rudy Gobert trade.

Kentucky players rated surprisingly low

The two middle-of-the-road players who strike me as rated a little too low are Julius Randle and Keldon Johnson, both of whom landed an overall rating of 82. Randle has been an automatic 20 and 10 guy since he joined the Knicks three years ago and Johnson has made incredible strides since the Spurs drafted him, turning into the team’s best player.

PJ Washington’s 78 rating also feels low. He is in line for a contract extension and while he may not be worthy of a max deal, the Hornets would be crazy to risk letting him explore free agency. He has been a solid contributor to a young and exciting team.

Another former Kentucky player coming in at a 78 overall rating is John Wall. This clearly reeks of, “We have no idea how to grade this perennial All-Star who hasn’t played in a few years so let’s just throw a dart and see where it lands.” I expect Wall to have a great year with the LA Clippers and if this happens, his 2K rating should climb.

Speaking of players difficult to evaluate based on lack of playing time, Shaedon Sharpe has a rating of 72.

Rookies always get a lower rating than what they might deserve; it also gives them room to improve and show their worth on the court. As such, TyTy Washington’s overall 71 rating has the potential to evolve as he grows in the league.

Kentucky’s best 3-point shooters

Of course, it’s not just overall ratings worthy of discussion. 2K breaks down a variety of skill sets into their own categories, one of which being 3-point shooting.

Cover boy, Devin Booker, claims the top spot of former Kentucky players from shooting behind the arc with a rating of 87, but the best shooting big man in NBA history and only center to win the 3-point contest, Karl-Anthony Towns, is right on his heels with a rating of 86.

Tyrese Maxey (85), Jamal Murray (84), Tyler Herro (83), Keldon Johnson (83), Malik Monk (83), and PJ Washington (80) round out the top eight.

That’s right, PJ Washington ranks higher than Immanuel Quickley and Shai Gilgous-Alexander in this category. This jumped out to me as way off initially, but Washington has a better real-life career 3-point shooting percentage than both Quickly and SGA, so it is not unfounded.

Kentucky’s best dunkers

While 3-point shooting can be rated fairly objectively based on stats, dunking is a much more subjective ranking, and I’m here for it.

Care to guess which former Kentucky player is rated the best dunker in NBA 2K23? If you said, “Obviously it is Hamidou Diallo and there isn’t a close second,” then you’d be right.

Diallo has been under the radar when it comes to his overall performance on the court, though he has carved himself into a nice niche with the Detroit Pistons. However, let us not forget he became the second former Kentucky player to win the NBA Slam Dunk competition in 2019 (John Wall did it in 2014) when he jumped over Shaq and put his elbow through the rim.

Diallo has a dunk rating of 93, good for 8th best in the entire league. He is followed by Anthony Davis at 88 and Shaedon Sharpe at 85. Someone at 2K headquarters must have been watching some high school mix tapes.

Next on the list is Jamal Murray at 82. Rating Murray, fresh off a severe leg injury, as a better dunker than notably bouncy guards like De’Aaron Fox (80) and violent rim-rockers like Julius Randle (80) seems like a leap, but here’s hoping the Blue Arrow lives up to the comeback hype.

Kentucky classic players

Devin Booker might be the highest-rated Kentucky player currently in the league, but the highest-rated former Wildcat in the game is Dan Issel, who comes in with an overall rating of 92. You can play with the Kentucky legend on the All-Time Denver Nuggets team where he played from 1976-1985.

Similarly, you can play with Kentucky legend, Cliff Hagan (91 overall), when you select the All-Time Atlanta Hawks team, though they were the St. Louis Hawks back when he was with the franchise in the late ’50s and early ’60s.

Other notable Kentucky blasts from the past who made the game include Kyle Macy (72 overall rating; ’85-’86 Bulls), Kevin Grevey (73 overall rating; ’84-’85 Bucks), and my personal favorite, Jamal Mashburn (80 overall rating; ’05-’06 Heat).

Unfortunately, there are a few high-profile players who did not make it into the game. Tayshaun Prince, who is the Vice President of Basketball Affairs with the Memphis Grizzlies, has not given permission for the 2K series to use his likeness, joining a few other former players now in upper management or a prominent announcing role to opt out.

You also won’t find Twitter star Rex Chapman in the game, simply because the teams he was on were not chosen as included classics. If Twitter 2K ever comes out, though, look for him to be a top-rated tweeter.

Current Former Kentucky NBA Player Ratings

Player	Team	Overall	3PT	Dunk
Devin Booker	Phoenix Suns	91	87	75
Anthony Davis	Los Angeles Lakers	90	70	88
Karl-Anthony Towns	Minnesota Timberwolves	89	86	75
Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat	87	69	80
Shai Gilgous-Alexander	Oklahoma City Thunder	87	75	75
Tyrese Maxey	Philadelphia 76ers	85	85	55
Jamal Murray	Denver Nuggets	84	84	82
DeAaron Fox	Sacramento Kings	84	72	80
Tyler Herro	Miami Heat	84	83	60
Julius Randle	New York Knicks	82	73	80
Keldon Johnson	San Antonio Spurs	82	83	65
PJ Washington	Charlotte Hornets	78	80	80
John Wall	LA Clippers	78	75	80
Jarred Vanderbilt	Utah Jazz	78	59	75
Immanuel Quickley	New York Knicks	77	78	55
Hamidou Diallo	Detroit Pistons	76	66	93
Malik Monk	Sacramento Kings	76	83	80
Isaiah Jackson	Indiana Pacers	76	59	80
DeMarcus Cousins	Free Agent	76	72	75
Nerlens Noel	Detroit Pistons	76	30	75
Enes Kanter Freedom	Free Agent	76	45	60
Trey Lyles	Sacramento Kings	75	75	65
Eric Bledsoe	Free Agent	74	74	70
Nick Richards	Charlotte Hornets	73	25	80
Willie Cauley-Stein	Houston Rockets	73	49	70
Rajon Rondo	Free Agent	73	76	30
Brandon Boston Jr.	LA Clippers	72	73	80
Shaedon Sharpe	Portland Trailblazers	72	73	85
Wenyen Gabriel	Los Angeles Lakers	71	70	75
Kevin Knox II	Detroit Pistons	71	69	75
TyTy Washington	Houston Rockets	71	78	75
Brandon Knight	Free Agent	70	78	60
Mychal Mulder	Free Agent	70	70	55
Johnny Juzang	Utah Jazz	68	77	75
Olivier Sarr	Portland Trailblazers	67	69	75

Classic Kentucky Player Ratings

Player	Team	Overall	3PT	Dunk
Dan Issel	All Time Nuggets	92	68	70
Cliff Hagan	All Time Hawks	91	90	65
Jamal Mashburn	96-97 Heat	80	75	75
Antoine Walker	05-06 Heat	79	81	55
Nazr Mohammed	04-05 Spurs	77	25	50
Winston Bennett	89-90 Cavs	75	40	50
Kevin Grevey	84-95 Bucks	73	77	65
Kelenna Azubuike	06-07 Warriors	73	84	85
Kyle Macy	85-86 Bulls	72	85	25
Derek Anderson	05-06 Heat	68	77	35