NBA: Who the 10 best players in NBA 2K17 should be
By Tom West
8th place – James Harden
James Harden may not make the top 10 of my general NBA player rankings (not that I’ve made such a list yet, so let’s stick with 2K for now), simply because two of his primary flaws — dominating control of the ball too much at times, averaging 4.6 turnovers per game last season, and, obviously, his painfully lacking defensive effort — are still prevalent.
In 2K, though, when you can determine a player’s defensive effort and move the ball as freely as you wish on offense, it’s easy to make sure that Harden is one of the 10 highest rated players in NBA 2K17 simply because he has so much skill. Also, you can easily make the argument that he’s a top-10 player in reality for the same reason.
And because of those flaws, primarily the defense, we often focus on the negatives with him and forget how great he actually is. We don’t always appreciate that he can do a combination of things that hardly any players can.
Last season, Harden averaged 29 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, finishing with 43.9 percent shooting and a 35.9 percent three-point shot, both of which are a slight drop off from 2014-15.
His sheer production, though, from the passing flare he displays to the shot creation with drives, free throw barrages and step backs, equated to some truly historical company.
In fact, through NBA history, only Oscar Robertson (seven times), LeBron James (twice) and the great Michael Jordan himself (once) have ever recorded at least 29 points, six rebounds and seven assists per game in a season. It’s hard to argue with that kind of all around offensive impact.
Harden’s production and talent is just too high to not place him in the top 10, lacking defensive effort aside. His offensive ratings alone deserve that kind of overall rating in 2K17.
As an obvious superior to Draymond Green in that regard, who’s also coming off a poor showing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Harden is the one player here where offense wins flat out over defense. The Beard’s offensive attributes should equal a high overall rating in the game.
And, hopefully for the Rockets, some defensive effort will be present next season.