The Memphis Grizzlies have been a popular team to play with in the NBA 2K series. The combination of Ja Morant’s attacking, cheat-code ability around the basket, multiple shooters and elite shot blockers made Memphis an attractive team to select.
However, the roster looks much different now.
Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are gone, and the Grizzlies are no longer one of the highest-rated teams in the game.
NBA 2K ratings are part of a video game, but they also provide another way to quantify how players and teams are viewed around the league. For the Grizzlies, the ratings reflect a team entering the season as one of the NBA’s biggest wildcards.
Expectations aren’t particularly high, but an overhauled roster has created plenty of unknowns.
NBA 2K27 releases Sept. 4. Here are some takeaways from how the Grizzlies are viewed based on their ratings.
Lacking high-end talent
The Grizzlies are ranked in the lower third of the league in overall team ratings. In the game, Memphis is viewed as a team that lacks high-end talent.
No Grizzlies player ranks among the NBA’s top 100. Players ranked in the late 90s are rated 81 overall, while Ty Jerome, Zach Edey and Cedric Coward narrowly missed the cut with 80 overall ratings.
That’s a significant change from recent seasons, when Memphis had multiple players viewed as top-tier talents.
Cam Spencer’s shooting is the biggest snub
Arguably the biggest question mark with the Grizzlies’ ratings is Cam Spencer’s 3-point shooting.
Despite Spencer ranking among the league’s best 3-point shooters last season, his rating falls well short of the game’s top shooters.
Sam Merrill, who played for the Grizzlies, and Max Strus round out the top 10 with 91 3-point ratings. Spencer leads the Grizzlies with an 84 rating.
That’s still a solid number, but it feels low for a player who shot 44.9% from 3-point range last season while making two 3-pointers per game.
No perimeter defense belief
Memphis rebuilt its roster with hopes of becoming a versatile, physical defensive team with size. With the 7-foot-4 Edey anchoring the paint, the Grizzlies have plenty of size on the interior.
However, 2K isn’t a believer in Memphis’ perimeter defensive options.
The top 10 list for perimeter defense ends with players who have a 90 rating. Jaylen Wells is the highest-rated Grizzlies perimeter defender at 80.
Promising young perimeter defender Cedric Coward is rated 73, putting him around the league average.
For a team hoping its size and versatility will translate into improved defense, NBA 2K suggests there is still plenty of room for the Grizzlies to grow on the perimeter.
Zach Edey viewed as a quality role player
If there is one Grizzlies player NBA 2K is particularly high on, it’s Edey.
The third-year center has favorable ratings in several key areas that could help make him one of the better centers in the Western Conference.
Edey is viewed as one of the NBA’s top rebounders. He has a 91 defensive rebounding rating, good for sixth among all players. His offensive rebounding rating also narrowly falls outside the top 10.
Those aren’t the only areas where Edey is viewed as one of the league’s best.
He also has the sixth-highest shot-blocking rating in the game.
How Edey progresses on the offensive end will play a pivotal role in determining his ceiling. But if he becomes a dominant rebounder and rim protector, he could establish himself as one of the NBA’s most impactful centers.
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
