Kobe Bryant NBA 2K16 Rating: L.A. Lakers Star Fades In Player Rankings


Kobe Bryant’s NBA 2K16 rating is a career low for the L.A. Lakers star. For NBA 2K16, Bryant is rated as an 85 overall player, putting it four points lower than the 89 rating he received last year. A report from CBS Sports discusses where “Black Mamba” falls on the chart, which might actually be a compliment to a player of his age. This will be Bryant’s 20th NBA season when the Lakers get things started in October.

Bryant is typically a player that has been ranked in the high 90s by the 2K games, with a high-water mark of 99 in NBA 2K9. Now this becomes the third-straight season that his rating has taken a hit, but it’s hard to argue for why it should be higher. He is coming off shoulder surgery that ended his 2014-15 NBA season quite early. It was also the second-straight season where he had a season-ending injury that made for a tough offseason.

Playing only 41 games over two years was an easy way for Kobe Bryant to hurt his NBA 2K16 rating, but it could be interesting to hear what he has to say about it. He will likely get a good laugh over the new ratings, and could even use it as motivation to come back even stronger than last season. That’s exactly what fans of the L.A. Lakers are hoping, especially with how ugly the team looked during the games Bryant wasn’t playing.

The regular season schedule for the L.A. Lakers begins on October 28 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Staples Center will play host to the game, with ESPN ready to provide television coverage of Bryant returning to the court. It’s an interesting game, because Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell should be ready to go, but so should the young core that the Wolves have put together through the past few NBA Drafts. Can the Lakers bounce back from an ugly 21-61 record during the 2014-15 NBA season?

While it might be fun to talk about the ratings that NBA 2K16 has handed out to players this season, the real players can still step up and overcome low marks. It would be a mistake for any opponent to look past a Lakers team with a healthy Kobe Bryant leading the way. He may be close to retirement at the end of the regular season, but Bryant believes the Lakers are a playoff team again.

[Image Source: Steve Jennings/Getty Images for Hublot]

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