Luka Doncic didn’t just have a glorious year, it was historic. Even barring his achievement of ushering the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals, his individual brilliance was enamoring. He scored 73 points against the Hawks, tallying the fourth-highest mark, and averaged almost 34 points per game. His sensational season couldn’t be capped by an NBA championship. But in the books of NBA 2K, he was number one.

In the much-anticipated reveal of the NBA2K25 ratings, Doncic shared the highest rating of 97 with three-time MVP Jokic and the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Judging from his accolades from the previous year, Ronnie was flattered. The same though can’t be said for Stephen A. Smith who raised objections by comparing Doncic’s workload to that of James Harden when he was on a mind-boggling run with the Houston Rockets.

“Let me get to Luka. Love Luka. Luka’s a superstar in this game. I know you know the game extremely well so pace of play and how that can do something for you but that can inhibit the success of those around you have to come into play. I know years ago it came into play with James Harden. So if that’s the case, how come it’s not coming into play with Luka and you got him top at the highest score with 97 with Jokic and Giannis,” Smith asked in retaliation on the Stephen A. Smith show.

For some context, in his peak years in Houston, Harden was a scoring demon. His numbers were stupendous, often drawing comparisons with Wilt Chamberlain. However, a part of it was always linked to his high 0n-ball time, which enabled him to be a one-man wrecking crew at times. But despite him averaging a historic 36 points at one point, only next to Chamberlain, he never saw the nod of being the highest-rated NBA2K player.

In that sense, Doncic does fall in the same vein. With the Mavericks, he is the primary ball handler, usually dictating play. During the regular season, he averaged the second-most touches only behind the Joker. However, the difference comes with his holistic offensive involvement. Yes, he did have the ball most times, but in terms of shots, he only took four less than Kyrie Irving. In the 2018-19 season, Harden averaged 10 shots more than the next on the Rockets.

Additionally, postseason success too has to be considered. The Beard never reached an NBA Final with his style of play. The Mavs’ mystical guard did so last season. But even though he deserves the plaudit this season, there is a history of NBA 2K and Ronnie favoring the Slovenian.

NBA 2K simply loves Luka Doncic like the rest of the world

Before making the case, it’s vital to clarify that as a basketball player, Luka Doncic is a behemoth. Each of his accolades with NBA2K, a $2 billion company as per Play Bite is hard to argue against. Yet, there is a case of love shown to him in comparison to others. To begin, Doncic currently holds the 6th highest average NBA2K rating in the game’s history.

Every other player before him has been knighted with MVP honors, except the 25 year old. His lowest rating was 79 as a rookie. In that group, it is the fourth highest rating given to a rookie. However, the list is long and lesser accomplished stars have received greater ratings than him.

Another staggering stat is that he was only 22 when he became the cover athlete for NBA2K22. Naturally, he is among the youngest players to don the cover of the popular game. At the end of the day though, it’s a game engineered as per the fans’ enthusiasm for the players as well as the creators’ opinions.

Ratings don’t coincide with their actual place in the NBA hierarchy. The game doesn’t consider factors such as experience, accolades and past accomplishments when devising a rating. Based strictly on yearly performance though, it’s hard to fault NBA2K for placing Doncic at such great heights. He carves magic on a regular basis, and is well on path to become a generational phenom if he isn’t one already.