NBA 2K27 Top-Rated Players Explained: The Complete Ratings Breakdown
NBA 2K27's Top 100 Player Ratings are in, and three stars are tied at the top: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić all sit at a 97 Overall. Here's how NBA 2K27 builds an Overall Rating, the full top tier, and where that number actually matters in-game.
NBA 2K27 launched with a fresh Top 100 Player Ratings list, and for the first time in years the very top of the board is a three-way tie. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić all sit at a 97 Overall, the highest rating anyone earned in this year's game. Below them, a stacked tier of MVP candidates, All-NBA wings and rising sophomores fills out the rest of the Top 100.
This guide breaks down how NBA 2K27's Overall Rating is actually built, lists the highest-rated players in the game, and explains where that number matters once you're playing MyCAREER, MyTEAM or The City.
1. How Overall Ratings Are Built in NBA 2K27
NBA 2K27 doesn't publish the exact formula behind a player's Overall Rating, but the building blocks are the same attribute categories the game has used for years: Shooting, Finishing, Playmaking, Defense, Rebounding and Physicals, each broken into individual sub-ratings like Close Shot, Pass Accuracy, Interior Defense or Speed. Those individual numbers are weighted by position and blended into the single OVR you see on a player card.
2K's ratings team revisits these numbers throughout the year using real NBA and WNBA performance, so a player's Overall Rating in September is a snapshot, not a fixed number — a hot streak, an injury, or a trade can all move it in a roster update. The Top 100 below reflects the ratings 2K published ahead of the September 4 launch.
Position also changes how those attribute categories are weighted. A center's Overall leans heavily on Rebounding, Interior Defense and Finishing, while a point guard's leans on Playmaking, Perimeter Defense and Shooting — which is part of why you'll see very different attribute spreads behind two players who land on the same 93 OVR.
2. The Top 10 Highest-Rated Players in NBA 2K27
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — 97 OVR
- Victor Wembanyama — 97 OVR
- Nikola Jokić — 97 OVR
- 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
The reigning unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and NBA 2K27 Standard Edition cover star, Wembanyama joins the reigning MVP conversation at the very top of the ratings for the first time. Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić, both former MVPs, round out the tie.
3. Just Outside the Top 10: Players Rated 90-93
The tier right behind the top group is deep. Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns all land at 93 OVR alongside Curry and Durant, followed by Tyrese Maxey at 92. From there, LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Devin Booker all sit at 91, with Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Davis rounding out the 90-OVR tier.
4. Rookie Ratings Worth Watching
The Top 100 isn't only established veterans. Duke product and 2025 lottery pick Cooper Flagg enters NBA 2K27 at 87 OVR, the highest rookie debut in this year's list, reflecting a strong start to his rookie campaign. Second-year guard Stephon Castle matches him at 87 after an All-Rookie-caliber first season alongside Wembanyama in San Antonio, while fellow sophomores Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson sit at 86 and 85 respectively.
Further down the list, rookie guard Dylan Harper debuts at 85 OVR and V.J. Edgecombe at 83, both ahead of where most first-year players typically start. If 2K's usual pattern holds, expect rookie ratings to move the most of any group once in-season roster updates begin — they're the players 2K's team has the least data on heading into launch.
5. The Three Cover Athletes and Their Ratings
NBA 2K27 ships in three editions, each fronted by a different cover athlete. The Standard Edition ($69.99) features Wembanyama at his 97 OVR peak. The Deluxe Edition ($99.99) features Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, one of the highest-rated players in the game's WNBA modes, The W and MyWNBA. The limited-time Ultra Edition ($149.99) features Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose, the 2011 MVP, honoring his career rather than a current-season NBA rating since he's no longer an active player.
2K's official gameplay trailer shows all three cover stars alongside the ratings-topping names from the list above, including a look at the shooting and finishing animations tied to those Overall Ratings in action.
For a full rundown of what separates the three releases beyond the cover art, see our breakdown of the Standard, Deluxe and Ultra Editions.
6. What Actually Moves a Player's Rating
Overall Rating on a real NBA player's card is set by 2K's ratings team and updated through roster files — you can't directly edit it. But your own created MyPLAYER's OVR works differently: it climbs as you invest attribute points during the build process and unlock Badges through gameplay. NBA 2K27 introduced a reworked MyPLAYER Builder this year, with Badge Tokens replacing the older badge-unlock system and a new Synergy system that lets paired Badges boost each other beyond their normal tier.
Because badges and attributes both feed into your MyPLAYER's effective rating on the court, it's worth understanding the new system in detail before you spend your first attribute points — our guide to Badge Tokens and the Synergy system covers how the Fuse and Reaction badge pairings work.
7. Where Your Overall Rating Matters Most
Overall Rating isn't just a number on a card — it follows your MyPLAYER into every mode that uses your created character. In MyCAREER, it determines which real NBA rotations and Eras storylines you're realistically competitive in. In The City, your build's OVR and badge loadout carry over across the REC, Park, Pro-Am and Rucker Park environments, all of which are now open to both male and female MyPLAYERs for the first time in franchise history following this year's Co-Ed City update.
In MyTEAM, real NBA and WNBA player cards use the same Top 100-style OVR system covered above, and higher-rated cards are the backbone of building a competitive lineup through the Auction House and card Exchange.
If you're still working out how your dunk and shot timing translate into makes and misses regardless of rating, our explainer on the Dynamic Dunk Meter and shot-contest system covers the mechanics that sit alongside your attributes.
Quick Recap
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić share the NBA 2K27 launch-window high with a 97 Overall.
- Luka Dončić, Jalen Brunson and Giannis Antetokounmpo follow at 96, with Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunningham next.
- Real-player ratings update over the season through roster files; your own MyPLAYER's rating instead grows through attribute points and Badge Tokens.
- Your Overall Rating and badges carry across MyCAREER, the newly co-ed City, and MyTEAM card building.
For everything else new this year, from the five playable MyCAREER Eras to the MyPLAYER Builder overhaul, see our complete NBA 2K27 guide to MyCAREER Eras and the MyPLAYER Builder, or browse the full walkthroughs.net game guide archive for more NBA 2K27 coverage.