NBA 2K26 is nearing its September 7 release date and, like every year, close scrutiny on player ratings will be kept by gamers around the world. When players like Stephen Curry and teams like the Golden State Warriors are involved, interest increases by some folds.
As anyone would expect, the Warriors are led in overalls by their talisman Curry for the seventh consecutive time since NBA 2K19. That was when Kevin Durant led the way for the Dub Nation with a 97 overall.
This year, Jimmy Butler is the obvious second-highest rated player on the roster, with Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski rounding off the top-five with an 81 overall each.
After a mixed season for the Warriors that saw them crash out in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, ratings have taken a considerable hit. Green and Butler have dropped two points, while Curry has also dropped one rating point. However, as always, there is considerable room for cherry-picking when it comes to questioning NBA 2K once again.
Stephen Curry is not a top-5 player in NBA 2K26
Chef Curry would have been the standard for longevity had LeBron James not existed, and at 37 played 70 games last season while averaging 24.5 points, six assists and 4.4 rebounds per game, per Basketball Reference. Curry shot at 57.2 percent overall from the field and continues to be a theoretical cheat code on NBA 2K for the time being.
The Warriors' superstar still remains integral to how well they can compete, as his team struggled with poorly timed injuries not just to him, but also Butler. However, when fit and firing, Curry is still a more impactful player than multiple others who have been given a 95 rating in NBA 2K26.
For that reason alone, one can argue that he continues to deserve at least a 95 as far as NBA 2K26 is concerned.
Buddy Hield continues to be underrated in NBA 2K
Buddy Hield has made 250 three-pointers five times in his career, second-most in NBA history. A determined defender, Hield averaged 11.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season while shooting 54.6 percent overall and converting 37 percent of his three-pointers.
However, the 2020 three-point contest winner may be a victim of a game-wide trend that 2K may be guilty of: underrating three-point shooting in general. Buddy Hield received a 77 overall in NBA 2K25 as well, and gamers can easily argue that he deserved at least a 78.
Moving on, it is hard to make a case for any of the other Dub Nation stars to have been underrated. Draymond Green has suffered a two-point drop from his 83 overall, a number he had maintained since NBA 2K22.
However, after what was a topsy-turvy season for the Warriors, it is hard to argue for a higher number. Golden State’s campaign at one point looked set to end even before the postseason, and the front office has continued to struggle to make the right moves to spark enough optimism for the upcoming campaign.
A fit and firing Butler-Curry duo certainly has the potential to flip the script. However, the Warriors seem to be banking on the fitness of an ageing core without surrounding the right players around them to emerge as genuine contenders in a packed Western Conference.
That may mean that the Warriors have been fairly treated when it comes to player overalls on NBA 2K26.
