The NBA 2K players-only tournament already started with four good matchups that left some good things, especially players’ statements and their opinions on NBA-related matters as well as remembering some of their real-life matchups.
However, before the tournament started, when the participants were announced, there was something that drew a lot of attention from NBA fans. Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside has an 87 rating in NBA 2K20, bigger than several players who have had a better season than him.
Previously, Fadeaway World had named all the players that have a worse rating than Whiteside and the ones with the same rating in the video game and the results were quite interesting, to say the least. Now, Dan Bernstein of Sporting News has broken down a conspiracy theory trying to explain why the former Miami Heat big man boasts an 87 rating in 2K20.
The straightforward reason is that he was having an extremely underrated season for the Blazers before it was postponed, quietly proving doubts about his viability in the modern NBA to be overblown. But there’s also the long-lived theory that Whiteside gets some extra love from game developers because of his aggressive ratings campaigning over the years. This is far from the first edition of the game that Whiteside has held a stellar mark, and it’s easy to see how his avid marketing of the franchise works to his advantage.
Bernstein even compares Whiteside’s stats to other players’ like Montrezl Harrell or Domantas Sabonis -who became an All-Star this year-, and they show Hassan was having a very good season, even better than the Clippers and the Pacers’ stars.
However, he has received a lot of criticism in recent years from people who say he plays for himself, not for his team, only boosting his numbers without helping his squad win games.
https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/559447457923215360
Yet, Whiteside gets a lot of love from the people in charge of the video game. He has done interviews talking about the past editions of NBA 2K, has appeared on ‘NBA 2KTV’ and has always shown his fascination for the game, so one would imagine those things helped him have such a good grade in the latest installment of the NBA 2K franchise.
