When the first game in the NBA2K series was released on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, no one could imagine its impact on not only the video game community and basketball but sports culture as a whole. As the internet and social media have evolved, the NBA 2K series has been dedicated to incorporating emerging technologies into its game.
In interviews with the Hoopsology Podcast, Ronnie Singh, also known as Ronnie2K, chats about how the passion around player ratings has fueled the video game series' popularity, and WNBA reporter Myles Ehrlich for Winsidr speaks about his involvement with the game and prominent journalists who have covered the WNBA who are now involved in NBA2K.
The Importance of NBA 2K Ratings
The ratings in the NBA2K series have become ingrained in the game's culture, and the face of addressing concerns from NBA stars who may be unhappy with their ratings is Ronnie Singh. He became the face of the video game series and has always been a basketball fan, with one of his first prominent basketball memories being Shaquille O'Neal breaking the backboard at LSU.
"Shaquille O'Neal was actually my favorite player going up alongside MJ, obviously," Singh said. "But I just remember that sheer dominance of him. Those amazing magic uniforms in the early years, and then him getting moved and being such a superstar alongside Kobe and then Dwyane Wade. So that one stands out to me, because I was just starting to play basketball myself. I always wanted to do that. I never got to that point, but it's okay. Maybe one day."
Reading opinions from fans and players in the WNBA and NBA leads you to think the creation of the ratings may have biases, but Ronnie insists the ratings have no subjectivity.
"Yeah, there are a ton of mini attributes that create this number," Singh said. "How well you shoot from the free throw line, how well you rebound, how well you shoot from outside, how well you steal or block, and all of these numbers. There is no subjectivity, really. It's based on percentages, and they get put into a formula and spit out a number."
He goes on to say that the game doesn't have a traditional 99 club, which has created a perception that the ratings are low, that Ronnie attributes to human nature and not having full context regarding how the ratings work. Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned a 98 rating, and the only 99 rating is 95-96 Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls.
Players have confronted Ronnie over the years about their rating, including Klay Thompson, who told Ronnie that his rating should be a 89.
"So like obviously, that number is always polarized and without any context, and there is a lot of context and a lot of data and information that goes into spinning out what is a very simply one number, but that creates a lot of heat and emotion across the country," Ronnie said.
But despite the passion over player rating disputes, Ronnie explains how rookies entering the league understand how the ratings work and are mostly worried about how they fare against their fellow players.
"I don't think NBA players these days look at their own rating," Ronnie said. "I think they look at the ratings of their position group and see where they kind of fall in there, and that's when they get mad."
When reflecting on the legacy of NBA2K, Ronnie is appreciative of his team and the developer of the game, Visual Concepts, for listening to the fans and continuing to expand the feature set for players. He also shares in Mark Cuban's opinion that the game has also become a resource for the history of the NBA.
"I think it was Mark Cuban that said like 2K is more of an educational device of basketball or the NBA than the NBA itself," Ronnie said. "Which is pretty Remarkable, but you get it like we have historical players. If you really want to know how good Wilt Chamberlain was, you can jump in and play him versus this current drop of players.
NBA2K26 Utilizes Reporters Embedded Covering the WNBA
With the rising popularity of the WNBA since 2020, there has been an improvement in coverage around the league, from the number of reporters telling the stories to the quality of narratives being told about the players. NBA2K26 has recognized this and has implemented respected WNBA journalists into its The W mode. Reporters Nekias Duncan (@NekiasNBA), Myles Ehrlich (@MylesEhrlich), Terrika Foster-Brasby (@sheknowssports), Jordan Robinson (@HeyJordanR), Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler), and Khristina Williams (@Khristina) have been incorporated into the game to comment on your player's progress.
"So they'll (reporters) populate a social media tab when you do something good. When you do something bad, when you have an off day, and I'm among the names that can show up there," Myles said.
For Myles Ehrlich, being featured in the game is a surreal moment.
"But yeah, for me, this is just as a video game player growing up, just a really cool thing that I'll be able to buy this year's edition and load it up and then randomly go out there with my created player and have a bad game and then see myself talking smack about it," Myles said.
For Ronnie Singh and Myles Ehrlich, NBA2K26 has been able to take the passion from its community and turn it into a celebration of the NBA and WNBA.
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