Killian Hayes has had a slow start to his career with the Detroit Pistons.
He’s been hampered by injuries to his hip and thumb that have limited him to just 92 games in his first two seasons in the league. While he’s shown flashes as a defender and passer, his offense has yet to develop.
Killian Hayes is still very young, so it’s likely the Pistons will exercise his option in October, but with two more guards added to the roster, he’s going to be in a fight for minutes and will likely come off the bench.
He’s very likely to be in the 10-man rotation, and hopes to make a big leap in year three on a rebuilding roster that should afford him that opportunity. Hayes is far from hopeless, but you might not know that from his ratings in NBA2K23.
Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes’ NBA2K23 rating
The release of the NBA2K ratings has become an annual event, with fans and even players lobbying for why their guys (or themselves) were underrated by the game makers.
Killian Hayes got an overall rating of 71, which doesn’t put him in the top 100 guards in the NBA. To put that into context, Isaiah Thomas, who is currently not even in the league and barely played in 22 games last season, received a rating of 76 overall. Tyrese Haliburton has an 84 in case you were wondering.
Hayes is tied for 13th on the Detroit Pistons with Kevin Knox, Isaiah Livers and Rodney McGruder. Saben Lee, who was in an out of the G-League last season and behind Hayes on the depth chart, received a rating of 75 overall, four points higher than Killian.
Neither of these players have proven themselves, but Hayes has at least shown more promise than Saben Lee, no?
In the end, it’s up to Killian to change the perceptions around him and the only way he can do that is by playing well in real games.
But for gamers that like to play with the Pistons, using Saben Lee might be the smarter choice until Hayes proves he is more than just a back-of-the bench guy.