NBA 2K26 is set to release on Sept. 5, 2025, and 2K has started to reveal the player ratings for the big names in the game. We had previously gotten the ratings for 100-51, and 2K released the top 50-31 on Monday.
50. DeMar DeRozan – 85
49. Austin Reaves – 85
48. De’Aaron Fox – 85
47. Zach LaVine – 85
46. Julius Randle – 86
45. Franz Wagner – 86
44. Jamal Murray – 86
43. Tyrese Maxey – 86
42. Tyler Herro – 86
41. Amen Thompson – 87
40. Jimmy Butler – 87
39. Derrick White – 87
38. Ivica Zubac – 87
37. Zion Williamson – 87
36. Darius Garland – 87
35. LaMelo Ball – 87
34. Alperen Sengun – 87
33. Domantas Sabonis – 87
32. Damian Lillard – 88
31. Chet Holmgren – 88
Let’s take a look at the risers first, and among the guards, Los Angeles Lakers‘ Austin Reaves has sneaked into the top 50 this time around. Reaves was 83rd in 2K25 with an 81 rating, but has gotten a significant upgrade after averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2024-25.
Tyler Herro has also gotten a notable upgrade, as he was 64th in 2K25 with an 83 rating. Herro averaged 23.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game for the Miami Heat in 2024-25. He made the All-Star team for the first time in his career in 2025 and will be looking to build on that campaign.
There is another guard who had an even bigger jump than both Reaves and Herro, though, and that’s Darius Garland. Garland was 75th in NBA 2K25 with an 82 rating, and helping the Cleveland Cavaliers post a 64-18 record in 2024-25 has led to him getting a huge boost.
As for the forwards, Houston Rockets‘ Amen Thompson is the name that stands out. Thompson had an 80 rating in NBA 2K25 and didn’t even make the top 100. He ensured that wouldn’t be the case this time around by making the All-Defensive First Team in 2025.
We head back to Los Angeles when looking at the center position, and Ivica Zubac was 76th in NBA 2K25 with an 82 rating. Zubac then averaged 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2024-25. That wasn’t enough to make an All-NBA team, but he did make the All-Defensive Second Team and got a much-deserved upgrade.
As for the notable fallers, Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler were 21st and 22nd, respectively, in NBA 2K25 with an 89 rating.
Butler did help turn the Golden State Warriors‘ season around after they acquired him from the Heat, but he did end up averaging just 17.5 points per game in 2024-25. The last time he had a lower scoring average than that was in 2013-14 (13.1), his third season in the NBA.
Lillard, meanwhile, had a bit of an up-and-down 2024-25 campaign with the Milwaukee Bucks but still averaged 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. The veteran tore his Achilles in the playoffs, though, and that could have been factored in here.
Lillard isn’t likely to get a chance to improve his rating in NBA 2K27, as he appears set to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign. Butler, though, will get that opportunity, and he certainly is fired up for next season.
