NBA 2K26 is about to hit the shelves, with early access to the game being available on the 29th of August and the game going live globally on the fifth of September. While the popularity of the famous basketball game franchise has gone down over the years, there are no comparable alternatives to the game at the moment. For Philadelphia 76ers fans, this may be truer than ever, especially when the team is coming off a bad season and may not get too much love from the developers.
This past week, 2K released its top 100 players list, with Nikola Jokic standing tall above all NBA players at a 98 overall. In fact, there are only two who got such a high rating, with only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rubbing elbows with the three-time MVP.
The thing about 2K ratings is that they are very much coded with recency bias. And for the 76ers, this has a chance of reflecting poorly on them especially when they're coming off a season in which they won just 24 games.
With that said, here is one verified NBA 2K26 rating for a 76ers player that is flat-out wrong.
NBA 2K26 penalizes Paul George (81 overall) for nightmare 2024-25 season
George has been a staple among the top 15 to 20 players every season on NBA 2K based on ratings. After all, George has a video game-friendly play style. He is a 6'9″ wing with considerable athleticism, consistent three-point shooting, and ability to handle the ball. Moreover, 2K always blesses him with the best animations. His shot is easy to green ever since he broke into the scene on NBA 2K13, and he's always been hovering around the 87 to 90 overall range, making him one of the most used players in the game.
Alas, George just couldn't get anything going during the 2024-25 season. He suffered a knee hyperextension during preseason and it clearly affected him, preventing him from getting into much of a rhythm. His debut season for the 76ers was nothing short of horrific. He averaged just 16.2 points per game — his lowest over a full season since his sophomore campaign — and he did so on 43/36/81 shooting splits.
Simply put, this was a far cry from the George everyone has come to know over the years. But still, it's downright disrespectful to have him at an 81 overall.
Sure, George did end the NBA 2K25 cycle rated in the low-80s. That is understandable, as he did have a brutal campaign. But his struggles appear to be a bit overblown, and it's disrespectful for NBA 2K to just gauge his overall rating for the upcoming game based solely off of one season. This is made all the more confusing by the fact that Joel Embiid is still rated at 92 despite having a nightmare season judging by his standards as well.
George has typically been more efficient from the field throughout his career. But it's not like his relatively poor efficiency last season was so far of an outlier. In fact, his true shooting percentage last season was better than that of his 2021-22 campaign, when his efficiency tanked as the Los Angeles Clippers' number one option. He ended the 2K cycle that year (NBA 2K22) as an 88 overall.
The decrease in his numbers simply came as a result of his weaker involvement in the offense. He did take a backseat, being the undisputed third option for the 76ers behind Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. In 18 games with Embiid last season, George's numbers were very unsightly, averaging just 14.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game on 41/31/79 splits.
But he did take just 12.3 shots per game in games he played with Embiid. George has not averaged this few shot attempts per game since his sophomore season. Lesser involvement in the offense means a dip in numbers, not necessarily skill level.
Now, there are reasons to be concerned for George heading into the 2025-26 campaign. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery earlier in the offseason, which is not a good sign when he nursed knee problems for most of last year. George's role is not about to change soon, as the 76ers will still be relying on the Embiid-Maxey one-two punch to get stuff done most of the time.
He also looked slower than ever, struggling to gain separation with his handles due to a lack of athleticism. But having George rated as an 81 overall is simply something a hater would do.
For reference, the likes of Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Michael Porter Jr. (82 overall), and Jalen Green (83 overall), just to name a few, are rated higher than George. Now, at what George is making for the 76ers (upwards of $50 million per season), those other players will be preferable to most teams. But this is not a trade value ranking, this is a list of top 100 players for NBA 2K26, and it's just unfathomable how far George has fallen in their eyes when he's not as washed up as one would think.
Honest question: Is Joel Embiid deserving of a 92 overall?
76ers fans, despite having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Embiid, would contend that he's definitely worth a 92 overall despite his bad 2024-25 season. He was clearly not 100 percent last year; he averaged nearly 11 fewer points per game last year than he did during the 2023-24 season, and his efficiency fell off a cliff. It was a terrible season for Embiid who succumbed to a knee injury and decided to have surgery to end his 2024-25 season early.
But somehow, NBA 2K has faith in Embiid, which is understandable. But why do they have so much faith in Embiid, still viewing him as a 92 overall, while George, after one down year, falls all the way down to an 81? There is simply no consistency whatsoever from NBA 2K. They have their own biases; that is the only explanation for these double standards.
This is not to say that Embiid is not worthy of the rating he received. But would it have been better from 2K to at least start him off at an 89 or 90 because of his poor '24-25 season and simply have him work his way up if he were to be healthy?
