NBA 2K has quickly become one of the largest sports games in existence. With a monopoly on the basketball simulation genre, there has been a yearly release of the game for decades now, and it’s probably not slowing down anytime soon.
This year, the game is receiving widespread praise for some new features and mechanics — but that doesn’t mean that the game didn’t get any criticism.
NBA analyst Nick Wright, for example, recently went off on the gaming studio for giving Michael Jordan a 99 overall rating.
“Giannis should be, but why are they all bunched up like that? And the answer is because they have to protect the sacred cow that is Michael Jeffrey Jordan,” Wright said. “He’s on the cover, so he’s a 99. And we can’t even have anyone at 98 because nobody’s even close. So, now the top is 97, and then it’s all bunched.”
As arguably the biggest MJ critic on the planet, those comments are not surprising at all coming from Nick Wright. For years, he has defended guys like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo while pushing back against Jordan’s claim as the GOAT.
So far, he has been mostly unsuccessful in changing the court of public opinion, but it’s not going to stop him from going after Jordan’s legacy, even if it means nitpicking his rating in a meaningless video game.
Only A Handful Of Players In NBA History Have Ever Received A 99 Overall Rating In The Game
In 2K’s defense, this year’s game is almost like a special ode to MJ. Besides featuring him on one of the alternative covers of the game, they also included a special ‘Jordan Challenge’ mode that lets players experience 15 of Jordan’s most iconic moments.
In their entire history, very few players have gotten that elusive 99 overall rating, and LeBron James is literally the only active player to have ever reached that mark.
It’s only fitting that the NBA’s GOAT is one of those players to get that 99, even if Nick Wright disagrees.
