Fact Check: Did LeBron James Really Match Shaquille O’Neal with 100 Overall Rating in NBA 2K25?

In modern-day basketball, the game is not limited to the court. Apart from the game itself, another enticing factor for the hoopers is the release of the latest NBA 2K game player ratings every year. Ahead of the global launch of NBA 2K25 on September 6, 2024, the parent company Take-Two Interactive Software released the ratings of the players and sparked the presumed debate among NBA fanatics. This time, it is the top dawg spot, allegedly taken by LeBron James, and has marked mayhem among the fandoms for its relevance and credibility.

Recently, an ESPN featured page on X going by the username BronMuse updated on his handle, “LeBron James confirmed to be a 100 overall in NBA 2K25👀🔥, The first 100 overall since Shaq in 2K2🤯🐐.” But how’s that possible? LeBron was not leading the scoring charts, as he only averaged 25.7 points last season. On top of that, the Lakers squad could not even get past the Joker trouble in the first round of playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. No wonder Nikola Jokic is leading the 2k25 chart with 98 overall ratings.

So, the ratings updates were fake? Mmmm…. that’s what it looks like since Joker is still on the top. At last, the Digital Marketing Director of 2k company 2k hit the final nail in the coffin of the fake post as he posted on X with the caption, “Outside of Rookies, no ratings have been released. So trust fake ratings and alleged rating sites at your own risk!”

As per the official site of 2kratings, LeBron James is on the 7th spot in the list of the Top 10 current players at the 2k25 launch. Moreover, he is holding the same 96 overall rating as he did the previous season. Though he reached the 99 overall rating during his stint at the Cavaliers, it was never near 100 and might not be the same even in the future. That means Shaquille O’Neal still holds the spot for being the only player with an NBA 2k overall 100 rating!

Shaquille O’Neal remains at the top after the controversial LeBron James NBA 2K rating!

Considering LeBron is not at that spot yet, it is quite crazy that Shaquille O’Neal is the only player to have a 2K overall 100 rating. He got it in the NBA 2k2 game. The historic feat that Shaq holds is due to the menacing season that he delivered pre-launch of the game. Coming off the 2000-01 season, he racked up 28.7 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, and 2.8 bpg; Shaq was flawless. His big stature and prime age favored him to defend the rim and score at the same time.

The fate was so surprising for Shaq himself that he could not even believe it when a Bleacher Report disclosed it to him about five years ago. The only words that the Shamrock could deliver at the moment were, “But I was so lazy. Why would they do that?” Well, the matter of fact is that the game did launch him with an overall 100 rating on 2K2.

Nonetheless, it might be a little disappointing for the LeBron James fans since the Lakers star has almost every other basketball accolade. Whether it is national, league, or international, LeBron is everywhere. But unfortunately, this time, the good news was the one to make people believe in it. And considering the purple and gold jersey’s current form, it was not credible at all. How do you all feel that LeBron could make it to the milestone spot? Let us know in the comments.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.