Each year, one of the key moments in the build-up towards the new NBA season, is learning the NBA2K ratings for players on your favorite team. In the case of the Boston Celtics, the experience this year is a bit different than last.
2K shared its top-100 rated players in 2K26 this week, and the list didn’t include as many Celtics as it would’ve a year ago. Just four members of Boston’s roster, three if you exclude Jayson Tatum, who is expected to miss the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, made the cut.
Tatum, the cover athlete for this past year’s 2K25 game, is the eighth-highest ranked player with a 94 overall rating. Jaylen Brown is the only other Celtic with a 90+ rating, just making the cut with a 90.
Both Derrick White and Anfernee Simons cracked the 100 best players as well, garnering ratings of 87 and 81 respectively.
Again, last summer it was a different story. Tatum, Brown, and White were all still highly rated, but they had far more teammates in the 80+ range. Kristaps Porzingis (88), Jrue Holiday (87), and Al Horford (81), were all a part of that club, with Payton Pritchard (79) not far behind.
Porzingis, Holiday, and Horford (presumably) will all be playing elsewhere in the upcoming season, after what’s been a firesale of a summer in Boston. Luke Kornet, a rotation mainstay, was another big loss for the Cs last month, too, joining the San Antonio Spurs as a free agent.
The Celtics somehow made their way onto the NBA2K cover
Ironically, Celtics fans will be able to remember those who have moved on, specifically Horford and Kornet, each time they load up the new 2K. As part of the game’s cover design, which features Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, there are a few familiar looking extras playing defense.
It doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Kornet, Al Horford (twice), and Sam Hauser are, in fact, the mystery defenders.
With that being said, the timing of the announcement was a bit cruel. Kornet had just left, and rumblings of Horford’s expected departure were surfacing too. Not to mention that none of the photos used came from a Boston vs. OKC matchup, but instead were plucked from the March home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The attack felt targeted for sure.
On the bright side, the Celtics will actually be a fun team to “rebuild” on the game’s GM mode this year, since there’s actually work to be done to improve the roster.