LA Clippers: Chris Paul gets NBA 2K17 rating, makes top 6

The NBA 2K17 rating of LA Clippers star point guard Chris Paul has emerged, yet again ranking him among the top handful of players in the game.

We’ve always known who the best two players were going to be in NBA 2K17 this season. Even before the 2016 Finals we knew. LeBron James, the man who has ruled the league for years to the tune of four MVP awards and now three championships, is always at the height of the game. Meanwhile, two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry shot himself up the standings with the Golden State Warriors’ emergence, clearly passing LA Clippers point guard Chris Paul.

Then, as LeBron came back from 3-1 in this year’s Finals (just in case you’d somehow forgotten), he left everyone else behind all over again.

LeBron’s herculean Finals effort has him on top as you’d expect, and rightfully so. With a 96 rating in NBA 2K17, he’s two overall points ahead of second place Curry.

But what about the rest of the top players? Those rankings have seen some changes. And as for Chris Paul, he’s narrowly missed out on receiving the title of second best virtual point guard to Russell Westbrook.

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Bryan Wiedey of Sporting News has detailed the game’s best players, adding their change from the ratings they had at the end of the 2015-16 season on 2K16.

96 – LeBron James (No Change)
94 – Stephen Curry (-2)
93 – Kevin Durant (-1)
93 – Russell Westbrook (-2)
93 – Kawhi Leonard (-1)
91 – Chris Paul (-1)
90 – Klay Thompson (-1)
90 – Draymond Green (+1)
90 – James Harden (-2)
90 – Anthony Davis (-1)
90 – DeMarcus Cousins (No Change)
89 – Paul George (-1)
89 – Kyrie Irving (+1)
89 – Damian Lillard (No Change)
88 – Carmelo Anthony (No Change)
88 – Karl-Anthony Towns (+2)
88 – Jimmy Butler (No Change)
88 – John Wall (-1)

Curry dropping slightly isn’t surprising after the heavy criticism he received as his performance dipped from his regular season standard in the Finals. Dealing with slight injury and the after effects of a gruelling, physical, seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Curry had some limitations and, also, simply played worse.

With 22.6 points per game on only 40 percent shooting in the Finals there was a major drop from 50.4 in the regular season, along with some poor passing (and overly flamboyant ones at that if you remember the behind-the-back pass that went out of bounds in the dying minutes of Game 7) to lead to an average of 4.3 turnovers to 3.7 assists.

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As for everyone else, minor changes are likely the result of new ratings introduced to the game — such as “open”, “contested” and “moving” shooting categories, for example — that may have impacted their overall rating.

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What do you guys think about Chris Paul’s rating?

Is 91 fair? Should he be the second best point guard in the game ahead of Westbrook? At least, even for those who hold that opinion, the disparity is relatively small at only two overall points. Westbrook’s triple-double nature last season and doing so much stat sheet stuffing across the board immensely helps his standing in 2K, especially when his athletic ratings are so high, too.

The other takeaway from looking at this list of the top 18 players is the absence of Blake Griffin. He’s easily deserving of a rating on par with the likes of John Wall, Carmelo Anthony or Jimmy Butler, but suffering with so much time off due to injury last season and having a limited return in the playoffs will have held Griffin back in the ratings.

Next: Ranking the Clippers' top 10 big men of all-time

Let us know what you think about the NBA 2K17 standings. Even virtual player rankings can spark heated discussion.