• Jordan Clarkson

Jordan Clarkson (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA 2K17 ratings are being gradually released and as always, the debates on who is overrated and underrated rages on.

The Lakers' Jordan Clarkson already tweeted his rating and he seems lukewarm about it.

Clarkson got 77, the same rating as teammate Julius Randle and less than first overall pick Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. Many felt that this rating was too low for Clarkson. There are those who opine that Clarkson being a second round pick was a factor in his low rating, which seems irrational because the Filipino-American has already worked his way up. He is a legitimate All-Rookie team member, something his teammate D'Angelo Russell, who himself got a higher rating of 79. Clarkson had the same rating as Joel Embiid, who was the third overall pick of their 2014 NBA Draft class-but Embiid has yet to play a single game! The rating kind of disregards the hard work that Clarkson has put in for the past two seasons. Even Embiid himself acknowledges that he got a break.


In contrast to Clarkson being underrated, many NBA fans are questioning Karl-Anthony Towns rating. The Rookie of the Year got 88 and the consensus opinion is that it's "too early" for him to be regarded that high.

Granted, Towns had an awesome rookie season and he would definitely be a beast in the NBA but how much should that play a part in the ratings? Another cause to question that is how it compares to other players' ratings. Kristaps Porzingis also had a great rookie season and about the same age as Towns, but he only got 80.

Was the gap between Towns and Porzingis that wide? Not many people think so. It's definitely not worth 8 overall points.

Even worse is that Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons, one of the league's top centers, got an 87 rating-lower than Towns.

The ratings cannot please everyone and is bound to be partially subjective. This is why 2K does make midseason adjustments. Still, it won't please everyone.