PistonPowered
Fansided

Avery Bradley ranked 8th best shooting guard in NBA 2K18

By Andrew Brewster

AUBURN HILLS, MI - JULY 13: Stan Van Gundy, president of basketball operations of the Detroit Pistons present Avery Bradley his jersey during a press conference on July 13, 2017 at the Detroit Pistons Practice Facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - JULY 13: Stan Van Gundy, president of basketball operations of the Detroit Pistons present Avery Bradley his jersey during a press conference on July 13, 2017 at the Detroit Pistons Practice Facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The NBA 2K18 team released their player ratings for this upcoming year. The Detroit Pistons’ Avery Bradley is ranked as the No. 8 shooting guard this year.

Yesterday, Ronnie2k announced that Andre Drummond was the ninth-best player at his position. Today, it was announced that Avery Bradley of the Detroit Pistons is ranked as the eighth-best shooting guard in the league by Ronnie and the 2k team.

It has become a yearly tradition for NBA players and fans. The NBA 2K team releases their player rankings, and we all get to bemoan the results. While many Detroit Pistons’ fans should be pleased about Avery Bradley‘s ranking, I did have a few issues with the list. For reference, here are this year’s results I shall now bemoan:

I want to quickly touch on the full lineup here, but to start I’ll just preface my Avery Bradley comments with one fact: It’s a crime that Devin Booker is listed above Avery Bradley here.

More from PistonPowered

As far as the rest of the list:

  • I’m definitely fine with Harden at the first spot. Make no mistake, James Harden was a point guard last year, but with Chris Paul in the mix this is more than a fair assessment.
  • Jimmy Butler is a small-forward. I’m not mad with the 2K team that he is on this list; I’m frustrated with the Timberwolves front office for not understanding modern basketball positioning.
  • Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan‘s positions are perfect.
  • I personally feel that by the end of this season Bradley Beal and C.J. McCollum will switch spots on this list.
  • One of the Piston Powered (Shameek Mohile) team members said Khris Middleton should be above both Dwyane Wade and Devin Booker on this list. I think that an argument can be made there, but I also think Middleton gets a little overhyped on the interweb at times due to his ability to do his job really well. I.e. shoot open shots and play average defense. I personally think he should be higher than Booker, but below Wade.

Now, to address my grievances with Avery Bradley’s position.

Well, to be honest, it has more to do with Devin Booker’s position than Bradley’s. Last year, Devin Booker showed some flashes as an offensive force on a bad team. He had a big 70-point outing in a meaningless game against the Boston Celtics. Last year, Devin Booker also showed that he is a sieve on defense.

BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 15: Avery Bradley
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 15: Avery Bradley /

Here is what I expected to find when I ran a player comparison on Bradley and Booker:

  • Devin Booker is bad on defense.
  • Avery Bradley is surprisingly good and efficient on offense.
  • Avery Bradley’s defensive rating last year is probably higher than it should be for someone often called the “best on-ball defender in the league.”

Well, those predictions ended up being about true, here’s a link if you want to see for yourself. His defensive rating was higher than most would think due to his cohort Isaiah Thomas. However, it was still obviously better than Booker’s.

Bradley’s net rating ended up being 5.6 points better than Booker’s. This was due to the fact that Bradley’s offensive rating was a full 3.1 points better than Booker’s. Before you say it was due to the team’s they were on (which might be true), it’s worth noting that Bradley’s effective field goal percentage was also much higher than Booker’s.

Look, Devin Booker is a fine young offensive player. But Avery Bradley is the best on-ball defender in the league. Come talk to me once Booker is the best at anything in the league.

Thinking about it from another angle: who would you rather have starting at shooting guard for your squad in the Finals? Would you rather have the kid who put up one decent offensive season for a terrible Suns team? Or, would you rather have the player who helped give the Cavaliers their first loss in the 2017 NBA playoffs.

Next: Reggie Jackson is key to the Pistons' success

Anyways, I am excited to see this guy in a Detroit Pistons’ jersey on my Xbox this fall. I am glad he at least got recognized as a top-ten shooting guard by the 2K team. However, if you happen to see Ronnie2K, tell him to fix this mistake before the season starts.

Home/Pistons News