BADGE UPDATES
Jayson Tatum: 43 (+3)
Max Strus: 8 (+3)
Lauri Markkanen: 8 (+5)
Obi Toppin: 6 (+2)
Ben Simmons: 20 (-6)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 7 (+1)
Devin Vassell: 4 (+3)
Credit should be given where it is due. 2K is much more on top of badges than they were last year. They still have a LONG way to go.
This also doesn't reflect badge updates where the totals didn't change. For example last update Donovan Mitchell had some badges upgraded even though no new ones were added. I expect to find something similar w/ Jayson Tatum this time around (and the inverse w/ Ben Simmons).
We have known for 20 years that 2K overrates superstars and has no qualms about breaking their scales to ensure they maintain high OVRs. The reasons for this are financially motivated. (This comes from someone in the upper echelons of the company).
Kobe Bryant was overrated for pretty much his entire 30s. Kids were buying games to play with him. Dirk Nowitzki was another example of a player who had a few attributes kept arbitrarily high so that he'd maintain his OVR. It's the same deal with LeBron and Curry.
As we've seen in a host of other forum topics, FEELINGS > FACTS for a lot of people, even those in their 40s. 10% of fans might want Klay Thompson's rating dropped but 90% are uninformed / casuals - who also happen to be the most outspoken/disgruntled - and not annual buyers.
I will just say that about 95% of the players with OVR changes, they can be explained just from diving in. On the surface something might seem off, but it's usually not the case.
Simons for example is at basically the same production he was at last season. His play also didn't improve over the last ratings cycle.
First two weeks: 22 PPG, 4 APG, 37 MPG (44-37-90)
Last two weeks: 23 PPG, 4 APG, 35 MPG (40-38-82)
I personally was surprised Darius Garland didn't go up given he dropped 51 in his last game. But then saw he shot 6-28 from the field in the two games leading up to that. It's human nature that we fixate on the good memories and discard the bad ones.
This is an example that stuck out to me as nitpicking.
Capela
2022 Basic: 11.1 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 27.6 MPG, 61.3 FG%
2023 Basic: 11.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 27.4 MPG, 60.5 FG%
2022 Advanced: 60.4 TS%, 15.5 USG%, 23.5 REB%, 4.1 BLK%
2023 Advanced: 60.5 TS%, 15.9 USG%, 22.7 REB%, 4.6 BLK%
Capela is the same exact player he was last season. No change is necessary because 2K didn't overreact to the small sample of the first two weeks.
Killian Hayes is shooting 31% from the field (37 TS%). Come on man. A three-game stretch doesn't eliminate the 11 games he shot 20% from the field.
He's a major reason why DET's bench units have been a train wreck (they're like -20 when the starters exit!) and why the team is worst in the East. He should have a higher rating to get him in the AI rotation, but not because he's been playing well.
I think a lot of these OVR critiques constitute nitpicking. 2K largely has production-related attributes under control. Keep them focused on the larger issues that actually matter:
Those attributes SHOULD be stable and not getting changed frequently.
The thing is they should be getting reviewed
once a year rather than once every FIVE years.
The roster devs butchered a handful of players like Simons many years ago (who has come a long way since the 7 MPG of his rookie season), and they are so
disconnected from the community that they can't hear anyone's cries. As mentioned, it is OVER A YEAR that users have been making this specific complaint, across a multitude of media.
There's a 10-second solution to a 1,000-day old problem. Yet they are so disconnected from their own work that they likely don't even know it's an issue. They prefer to work blindly in the dark because they can't take criticism, no matter how justified.
They only seem to address long-term issues when I make an especially venomous & pointed stink on Twitter, so maybe I should try that.