NBA 2K27 Top 100 Player Ratings Explained: The 97 Club, Rookie Debuts & the 90 OVR Cutoff

NBA 2K27 launched with its usual flashpoint for debate: the official Top 100 player ratings. 2K revealed the full list on its own site weeks before the game's September 4 release, and it has been the subject of arguments on every NBA 2K forum since. Three players are tied for the top spot, a rookie cracked the high-80s before playing a single real NBA minute, and the "90 Club" is smaller than it has been in years.

This guide breaks down how NBA 2K27's rating system actually works, who made the elite tiers, where the cutoffs land, and how the numbers are likely to move once the real 2026-27 NBA season gets underway.

1. How NBA 2K27's Rating System Works

Every player in NBA 2K27 gets a single Overall (OVR) rating built from dozens of individual attributes grouped into categories like shooting, playmaking, defense, rebounding, physicals and athleticism. Those sub-ratings are what actually govern on-court outcomes — a player's three-point percentage attribute affects his green-window size, his lateral quickness affects how well he stays in front of a dribbler, and so on. The OVR number is really just a single-figure summary of that underlying attribute spread, which is why two players can share the same OVR while playing completely differently.

2K's rating team pulls from real statistical production, advanced metrics, and scouting notes from the 2025-26 season to set the initial numbers. Crucially, 2K has stated that ratings are not static for the year: OVRs are designed to fluctuate throughout the 2026-27 NBA season based on how players actually perform, so a slow start or a breakout stretch can move a player's number well before the next annual release.

2. The 97 Club: Three Players Tied at the Top

For the first time in several years, NBA 2K27 doesn't have a single consensus highest-rated player. Three stars are tied at 97 OVR:

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) — officially holds the tiebreaker for the No. 1 overall spot after averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists while leading Oklahoma City to a 64-18 record.
• Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) — comes in at No. 2, coming off a Defensive Player of the Year campaign that made him the clear anchor of the Spurs' defense.
• Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets) — rounds out the trio, continuing to post a statline no other center in the league can match.

It's a notable shift from past years, when a single player usually separated himself at the very top. Readers who want the full breakdown of how MyPLAYER attributes translate into these kinds of OVR numbers can check our guide to NBA 2K27's Badge Tokens and MyPLAYER builder system.

3. The Rest of the Top 10

Just below the 97 Club, the ratings separate into a tight 95-96 tier and then a step down to the 93s:

• Luka Dončić — 96 OVR
• Jalen Brunson — 96 OVR
• Giannis Antetokounmpo — 96 OVR
• Anthony Edwards — 95 OVR
• Cade Cunningham — 94 OVR
• Stephen Curry — 93 OVR
• Kevin Durant — 93 OVR

Cunningham's 94 is the headline number here — it's his highest career rating and puts him ahead of established stars like Curry and Durant for the first time. The top five have stayed fairly stable year over year, but the 2026 NBA Finals MVP pushing into the conversation is new for this edition.

4. The 90 OVR Club

2K's ratings team draws a soft line at 90 OVR — informally referred to as the "90 Club" — and this year it includes 20 players. Rounding out that group near the cutoff are Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Davis, both sitting at exactly 90 OVR. A few names just below the trio and the 93-96 tier worth knowing: Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns at 93; Tyrese Maxey at 92; and a crowded 91 tier that includes LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Devin Booker.

Making the 90 Club remains one of the clearest badges of star status in the game, since it's a much smaller group than the 80-89 tier where the bulk of starting-caliber players land. For a look at how those attribute tiers show up on the floor — shot contests, takeover windows and dunk animations in particular — see our breakdown of NBA 2K27's Dynamic Dunk Meter and Takeover system.

5. Where the Rookies Landed

Rookie ratings are usually conservative in a player's first NBA 2K appearance, since there's no professional statistical track record to rate from yet. Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft who signed with the Dallas Mavericks and chose No. 32 in honor of his mother's old high school number, debuts at 87 OVR — tied with established veterans like James Harden and Trae Young. Other young players rated in that same 85-87 range include Stephon Castle and Ausar Thompson, while fellow 2025 draftees Dylan Harper and V.J. Edgecombe sit at 85 and 83 respectively.

It's a reminder that 2K's in-season rating adjustments matter most for this group — a rookie who starts hot in October and November is likely to see faster, larger bumps than an established All-Star whose role and production are already well understood.

6. How Ratings Change During the Season

Unlike the MyTEAM card economy, where a player's rating is locked to the card version you own, the base roster ratings used in MyCAREER, MyNBA, Play Now and The City are tied to 2K's ongoing roster updates. 2K has been explicit that these numbers will move throughout the 2026-27 season as real results come in — a reigning MVP candidate who slumps can lose a point or two just as easily as a breakout role player can gain them. If you're building a MyNBA franchise or grinding MyCAREER, it's worth checking the official ratings page periodically rather than treating the launch numbers as fixed for the whole year.

The same dynamic system applies to the WNBA side of the roster inside The W and MyWNBA, which ships with its own separate ratings and overall structure — covered in detail in our guide to The W and MyWNBA in NBA 2K27.

7. Where to Check Official Ratings Yourself

For the complete, up-to-date Top 100 list — including every player from 81 OVR up through the 97 Club — 2K maintains an official ratings page that updates as the season progresses. It's the only source worth trusting for exact numbers, since third-party leaks and early scouting guesses are regularly off by a point or two in either direction. Readers getting into a MyCAREER save for the first time can pair this with our complete NBA 2K27 MyCAREER guide to see how these attribute tiers map onto the MyPLAYER builder.

Quick Recap

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić are tied at 97 OVR, the highest rating in NBA 2K27.
• Luka Dončić, Jalen Brunson and Giannis Antetokounmpo follow at 96, with Anthony Edwards at 95 and Cade Cunningham at 94.
• The "90 Club" includes 20 players this year, with Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Davis at the 90 OVR cutoff.
• Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, debuts at 87 OVR — tied with established veterans like James Harden and Trae Young.
• Ratings are not fixed — 2K adjusts them throughout the 2026-27 NBA season based on real performance.

Official Resources

• NBA 2K27 Official Top 100 Player Ratings — 2K Games
• NBA 2K27 Official Site — 2K Games
• NBA 2K27 on Steam