NBA 2K26 ratings offer healthy dose of Sixers haterade

NBA 2K26 is coming out at the beginning of September, which means it’s time for everyone’s favorite annual tradition: getting #MadOnline about where your favorite players are ranked in a video game.

2K has been dropping player ratings in piecemeal fashion throughout the week, but we finally have the full top 100. Spoiler alert: the Sixers are not particularly well represented.

The good news is that Joel Embiid still cracked the top 20 at No. 17 overall. That was a steep drop from his No. 5 ranking last year, but given the season he just had and the uncertainty still surrounding his knee, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he came in far lower. Having him just ahead of Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker surely won’t rub New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns fans the wrong way.

However, the stink of last season did rub off on Tyrese Maxey, who dropped from No. 26 in 2K25 to No. 43 this year. He’s tied with Tyler Herro, Jamal Murray, Franz Wagner, Julius Randle and Zach LaVine (?!) with an 86 overall rating. Maxey led all six of those players in points (26.3), assists (6.1) and steals (1.8) per game last season, but to each their own. If 2K wants to hold his inability to drag the Sixers out of their injury-ravaged morass while miscast as a No. 1 option against him, more power to them. Maxey could use all the bulletin-board material he can get.

If you thought Maxey’s plunge was bad, wait until you hear about Paul George’s. He went from No. 24 last year to No. 92 (!!!!) this year, right behind Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons, Draymond Green and Josh Hart. His 81 overall rating is also tied with Jrue Holiday, Herb Jones, Lu Dort, Onyeka Okongwu, Immanuel Quickley, Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Johnson, Alexandre Sarr, Aaron Nesmith, Shaedon Sharpe and Bobby Portis Jr. (On a related note, Johnson’s rank is going to age like spoiled milk.)

I’m not going to sit here and pretend like George had an incredible debut campaign in Philadelphia. He missed 41 games last year due to an assortment of injuries and is fresh off arthroscopic knee surgery after injuring himself in an offseason workout last month. The chances of him living up to the four-year, $211.6 million contract that he signed with the Sixers last summer are roughly between slim and none. But last I checked, 2K doesn’t take contracts into account when assigning player rankings.

Even though he was gutting through injuries for most of the year, George still averaged a well-rounded 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.3 made three-pointers and 1.8 steals per game last season. He also finished in the 87th percentile of estimated defensive plus/minus and the 79th percentile of overall EPM, according to Dunks and Threes. Putting him in a tie with Sarr, who shot 39.4 percent overall as a rookie, or Murray, who currently has one functional Achilles tendon, is genuinely insulting.

Embiid, Maxey and George were the only three Sixers to crack the top 100. 2K hasn’t revealed full ratings for the rest of the team yet, although in news that is sure to go over well in Philadelphia, VJ Edgecombe (76 overall) came in one spot behind Ace Bailey (77 overall) in the rookie rankings. On the bright side, Adem Bona is tied for the sixth-highest block rating in the game (91), trailing only Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Robert Williams III, Donovan Clingan and Walker Kessler.

Those who didn’t preorder 2K26 have to wait until the Sept. 5 global release date to get their hands on it. In the meantime, we can all sit back and enjoy watching the Eagles go #belt2ass on the Cowboys in the NFL season opener on Sept. 4.