Shocking new 2K25 player ratings will drive a wedge between Rockets fans

How many times have you rebuilt the Houston Rockets in NBA 2K?

What's that? An amount of times that isn't embarrassing? Good for you.

We'll see ourselves out.

Soon, fans will be able to rebuild the Rockets again. NBA 2K25 is set for release on September 6, 2025. Lovers of the franchise will be anticipating the game's newest additions.

If you're unsure about who to build the Rockets around, the recent release of their player rankings won't provide any clarity*.

*It's worth noting that 2K has stated that these ratings are subject to change by the game's release

NBA 2K rates two Rockets as stars

Alperen Sengun is the highest-rated player on the team. That's no surprise. Sengun is rated a fair 86 overall.

Some would suggest that Sengun is comfortably the best player on the team. It doesn't seem like 2K shares that sentiment. Jalen Green is rated 85 - just one lower than Sengun.

Is that fair? Does it even mean anything?

Green is a star - off the court, anyway

In recent years, the 2K ratings have taken on a lot of meaning. Players care about their rating - and understandably so. If a well-recognized authority was rating SpaceCityScoop for the entire world to see, we'd like to be a 90 overall.

Yet, their ratings aren't solely meritocratic. This is a business. The developers at 2K need to sell games. They can't hand a player as popular as Green a sub-80 rating, even if that's what he earned throughout most of the year.

Moreover, Green's season was complicated. If you were rating him based solely on his season-wide stats, he'd be in the 70s. Still, if you were rating his March (and to a lesser extent, April) alone, he'd receive a 90+.

So, 85 is generous, but it can be justified. It feels like the game is trying to split the difference between Green's lofty ceiling and his depressingly low floor.

It just so happens that the rating will inevitably fan the flames of an increasingly large fire within the Rockets fanbase.

Rockets fans will squabble over 2K ratings

The Sengun diehards will maintain that he's earned a considerable gap from Green. By contrast, Green's supporters will say that Green thrived in Sengun's absence.

Questions about whether this duo is built to last have been persistent. With Green and Sengun both due for rookie extensions soon, those questions take on new significance. Diehard supporters of each will insist that the team should prioritize the other, and these ratings will do nothing to silence their voices.

The truth is complicated. This team's future is unknown. That's not a reality that a lot of Rockets fans are likely to be comfortable with, but it's true.

In the meantime - just build the team around whoever you want.