Did 2K nail it or short Tatum?
Boston Celtics franchise star Jayson Tatum made a major leap during the 2022-23 season, which was reflected in the latest ratings release for “NBA 2K24.”
Despite suffering yet another underwhelming finish to the season, Tatum had some notable strides. The 25-year-old finished fourth in MVP voting, earning 286 points after a career-best campaign in terms of scoring.
Tatum earned All-Star honors for the a fourth consecutive season after he averaged a career-high 30.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 46.6% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. Boston’s go-to man also recorded 31 double-doubles, leading the NBA with 2,225 total points.
Now… the rating?
Tatum notched yet another career-high, rated a 95 overall — his highest since being featured on the 2K game — which was the eighth-highest rating among all players.
Tatum was given a 93 overall rating last season, which also placed him in the top 10.
While it’s premaute (but still appropriate) to rank players way ahead of the season, the folks over at 2K aren’t the only ones projecting yet another big year from Tatum.
Months before October’s NBA Opening Night, Tatum was issued the fifth-best odds at winning the MVP award next season. That would hypothetically A) mark the first of his still-young career and B) make Tatum the first Celtics player to win the award since Larry Bird in 1986.
Now we await the rating of Jaylen Brown.