10 Rookies We’re Excited for in NBA 2K15
The NBA Playoffs are only a few days away, and we’ll definitely be talking about those in the next few days, but for the rest of the league it’s time to look to next year and the upcoming draft.
In that spirit, I’ve decided to rank the top 10 rookies I’m looking most forward to playing with in NBA 2K15.
#10 Shabazz Napier
UConn’s star guard made a name for himself in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, even prompting LeBron James to tweet that he would take him before any other point guards in the upcoming draft. However, Napier is a bit undersized and will be 23 before the start of his rookie season, meaning he may not be quite that high on many teams’ draft boards. Still, he was a decent shooter in college with good range and made big shots in high pressure situations.
His most translatable skill to NBA 2K15 will be his ability to hit shots off the dribble. He showed a consistent ability this season to pull up either on a drive or coming off of a pick and elevate and consistently hit contested jumpers. Most mock drafts have him going somewhere between the last few picks of the first round and the first few of the second, so there’s a chance he could wind up on the Bucks, who are the odds-on favorite to draft Andrew Wiggins (more on him later), or as a backup in Miami or with the Clippers.
#9 Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Thanasis is the older brother of Giannis Anteteokounmpo, rookie forward for the Milwaukee Bucks. Like his brother, he’s seemingly as long as his last name, and 2K’s increased focus on wingspan benefits players like Thanasis and Giannis. Thanasis isn’t a great shooter, but he’s a huge, high-energy defender who can elevate and finish at the rim with a flourish.
His athletic ability and dunking prowess will be his best skills in either basketball game. 2K, with its high-fidelity animations, will provide many beautiful Thanasis moments either with blocks or dunks. He’ll also be a terror when pressuring his man off the ball, as his long arms and explosiveness give him a huge advantage when playing the passing lanes. Mocks have Thanasis going in the back half of the second round, potentially with the Sixers (he’s currently playing for their D-League team) or the Spurs.
#8 Patric Young
The granite big man from Florida certainly made a name for himself with his physicality as one of the defensive anchors of the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, averaging about 2 blocks and 1 steal per game in the tournament as the Gators made their run to the Final Four. He played well offensively against UConn in the Gators’ loss, scoring 19 points on 13 shots in 32 minutes in his last game as a collegiate athlete. However, Young was inconsistent on that side of the ball in general, averaging 11 points on 8 shots per game. He also mysteriously regressed as a free-throw shooter throughout his 4 years at UF, as his percentage dipped 10 percentage points between his freshman and senior seasons.
Young is 22 and only 6–9, but he has a 7–1 wingspan, and those long arms should make him a reliable rim protector. Young could be the second-coming of Ben Wallace with his physical gifts, but the worry around the league is that the game has changed so much in the short time since Wallace was at his peak that an offensively-challenged player might not be able to stay on the court. However, Young is a respectable post player with plenty of strength to seal off defenders down low and get good position. He’s also an explosive athlete who can be a great roll man in the pick and roll or the recipient of transition alley-oops.
#7: PJ Hairston
Hairston is a huge shooting guard that carried North Carolina in 2013 before being dismissed from the team and joining the Texas Legends of the D-League. Hairston is long for his position, with a nearly 6–10 wingspan on his 6–5 frame. He averaged 22 points on 16 shots per game in the D-League, shooting 45% from the floor and 36% from 3 while also shooting 87% on almost 6 free throws per game. Hairston is a volume scorer who could find himself drafted in the back half of the first round, primarily due to his troubled college career and lack of elite athleticism.
Hairston should wind up being a pretty well-rounded player in basketball video games this fall. He’s a good shooter with great range and an ability to hit heavily-contested shots going in either direction. Of course, he’s long, which should allow him to create space for his shot. He’s also a good ball-handler and his size makes him a good option as an on-ball defender, especially if he’s being controlled by a user.
#6 Noah Vonleh
Vonleh is a big man with absurd upside. The 6–10 big man from Indiana shot 49% from 3 in his freshman season, albeit on only 1.1 attempts per game. A lack of aggression defines Vonleh’s game, as he picked his spots quite a bit, despite his height and massive frame (7–4 wingspan). This is perhaps due to his age, as Vonleh is only 18 and won’t turn 19 until a month or so after the draft, but it’s still enough to have him slated for the latter-half of the lottery.
Assuming he’s rated properly, Vonleh is going to be an awesome rookie in NBA 2K15. His size combined with his ability to shoot will make him a terror for defenses, whether as a roll man on a pick and roll or as a spot up shooter weakside. Similar to other players that drift away from the game in real life, user control means that Vonleh is in a state of perpetual aggression in video game basketball, and his immense gifts should shine through.
#5 Jabari Parker
Duke’s freshman phenom finally ended weeks of speculation by declaring for the draft. Unlike some of the other young players in this draft class, Parker plays with an aggression and determination that belies his 19 years of age. However, after a fast start saw him rocket up draft boards to #1, Parker tailed off near the end of the year, culminating in a frustrating 4–14 performance in a loss to 14-seeded Mercer in the first round (I refuse to call it the second round) of the NCAA Tournament.
Parker is a big guy, standing at 6–8 with a 7 foot wingspan, and his length allows him to get to the rim and finish in traffic, a necessary skill in both real life and video game basketball. However, there are concerns about Parker’s physical shape and athleticism, as he often had to lean on that length to get to the rim due to an inability to get past his man. This lack of elite quickness also affects his defense, where he will be weak against small forwards at the NBA level.
There’s also something to be said about him playing out of position, as Duke often had him playing something akin to a center instead of the hybrid SF/PF he projects to in the NBA. If he wants to play that position, though, he’ll have to improve his shooting, as he shot 36% from 3 in college.
Parker will also be highly-rated, perhaps purely based on reputation, but he should be a very good overall player in NBA 2K, especially when spreading the floor as a shooting PF. He might even wind up being better in the game than he is as a pro.
#4: Dante Exum
Exum is the great unknown of the 2014 draft. He’ll be 19 in July, and he has been playing in his home country of Australia this year. He’s listed as a 6–6 point guard with a 6–9 wingspan, which is huge for that position. He also has the ability to play shooting guard as well. Like I said, Exum has been playing overseas, which makes him tough to scout. His strengths on paper are very enticing, as he uses his length well to be a reliable scorer and defender. His size makes him a great rebounder for the position and he has a high basketball IQ, picking his spots to attack or distribute well, especially out of the post.
However, he hasn’t yet shown himself to be a great shooter, with a form that’s still a work-in-progress (his release is pretty low for a guy his height) and results to match. He’s a better shooter than Ricky Rubio, but he’s not the wunderkind with the ball that Rubio is.
Exum is currently a top-5 prospect and could find himself with teams like the Sixers, Magic, Celtics or even the Lakers. He’s going to have his moments in either NBA game, but I’m curious to see where his shooting ratings wind up. Still, he’s a huge, crazy-athletic point guard that will get his opportunities on a bad team, and will be a great building block in franchise modes, even if he’s troublesome as a shooter in online head-to-head play.
#3 Joel Embiid
Embiid was a darkhorse #1 overall candidate before suffering a back injury in early March that justifiably has NBA teams freaking out. Embiid has an NBA-ready body at an even 7-feet tall with a 7–5 wingspan and averaged 11 points per game on only 6 shots in only 23 minutes per. He projects as a reliable double-double machine with great post moves, should he be able to stay on the floor, either due to injury, or foul trouble (he fouled almost 4 times per game in those 23 minutes).
Embiid is going to be a wonderful player to play with in either franchise or online head-to head play. His length and athleticism make him an elite rim protector, and his refinement on offense belies his 20 years of age. He’s projected as a top 3 pick and a near-certainly at #2 behind Andrew Wiggins.
In an era when centers are getting smaller and faster, Embiid’s size and athleticism, assuming complete recovery from his injury, make him a cornerstone player.
#2 Doug McDermott
“Dougie McBuckets” is probably going to be the highest-rated shooter of all the rookies in 2K15. He shot 45% on 6 threes per game and 27 points overall on 18 shots as a senior at Creighton. He projects as a stretch power forward in the NBA ala the Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson, and will probably be used in small lineups that space the floor and take advantage of his skills.
NBA teams are less confident in his ability as a defender due to his size (6–8 with a 6–8 wingspan) and lack of elite athleticism. These concerns make him the best candidate to fall in the draft, especially after another collegiate sharpshooter, Jimmer Fredette, has already been traded from the Kings, who picked him 10thoverall just 3 years ago, to the Bulls, where he’s now languishing as a rarely-used backup guard.
However, McDermott’s shooting should translate well to the world of video game basketball, and his placement somewhere in the middle of the first round will potentially put him on some intriguing teams such as the Sixers (who also should have a top-3 pick to go along with Nerlens Noel and presumptive Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams), Timberwolves, or Suns. Using him as a stretch 4 in lineups with a lot of shooting should be a path to success in a lot of online head-to-head games where players face a lot of zone defense, and he should be a reliable bench shooter in franchise modes.
#1 Andrew Wiggins
The probable #1 overall pick of the draft had a mystifying college campaign at Kansas. Many criticized him for a lack of passion and drive, and he did have a tendency to be too passive for the presumptive best player on the floor in any given game.
Wiggins did have a very good March, however, scoring 41 on only 18 shots in a 92–86 loss to West Virginia and followed that up with 30 in an overtime win against Oklahoma State. He also had some eye-popping box scores sprinkled throughout the season, including a 19 rebound game in a win over then #8 Iowa State and 26 and 11 in a narrow loss to then #19 Florida.
Wiggins grades out as an elite athlete with incredible leaping ability and elite size for an NBA prospect at 6–8 with a 7 foot wingspan. He’s more of a slasher than a pure shooter, as his 34% from 3 on 3.5 attempts per game demonstrates. However, he got to the line often and was incredibly efficient overall, scoring his 17.1 points per game on only 12 shots which is only slightly behind Doug McDermott’s pace. He’s a willing and capable defender who uses his lanky frame to bother passing lanes and jumpshots.
Wiggins should be the highest-rated rookie in the game, and under user control he won’t be passive and settle for ineffiecient long 2s or drift away from the ball on offense. He will most likely assume the role of starting shooting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, and adding him to the mix with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Sanders and John Henson makes for a potentially devastating defensive team full of elite athletes who can sorta shoot. Most likely Wiggins’ jumpshot will be slightly overrated in both games, and he could very well be the focal point on offense in online head-to-head games and as a franchise cornerstone.
There are a ton of other intriguing prospects in this draft, including some who have yet to even declare. Who are some of the rookies you’re most looking forward to using, and who do you hope your team of choice drafts? May 20th is the Draft Lottery and, as a Sixer fan, I’m hoping for the #1 overall pick and a shot at Mr. Wiggins to go along with Aaron Gordon at 9 or 10.
Originally published at www.goodgamebro.com on April 17, 2014.
