Sacramento Kings: 3 players who are underrated in NBA 2K22

Look, when your team has missed the playoffs a record 15 consecutive seasons in a row, sometimes you’ve got to look elsewhere for basketball entertainment. The NBA 2K franchise provides that for many of us, and is also the only reality where the Sacramento Kings can raise a Larry O’Brien trophy in 2022.

So with the next release of the franchise, updated for the next generation of video game consoles, many fans were excited to hop in and play with the Kings’ new additions like rookie Davion Mitchell. However, I think the team at 2K could have spent less time designing high definition sweat, and more time properly evaluating the talent on the Sacramento Kings.

While the Sacramento Kings’ as a team are rated more highly in NBA 2K22 than in years past, there are still a handful of players that are certainly underrated.

With all that out of the way, let’s look at the 3 players on the Sacramento Kings that I believe were rated the most unfairly in NBA 2K22.

Harrison Barnes: 78 Overall

Harrison Barnes is the type of player every franchise wants on their team. He could stand to improve on the defensive end, sure, but Barnes has no glaring weaknesses on the court and can do a little bit of everything. Unfortunately, 2K has Barnes ranked as the 22nd best small forward in the league, which I feel is a little disrespectful.

For instance, RJ Barrett is rated as an 83, ninth-highest among small forwards. But when you compare the two players, the gap doesn’t seem nearly as large as they’d have you believe.

• Barnes: 16.1 PTS, 6.6 REB, 3.5 AST, 0.7 STL, 57.5 eFG%, 15.4 PER
• Barrett: 17.6 PTS, 5.8 REB, 3.0 AST, 0.7 STL, 49.9 eFG%, 13.4 PER

Given what he’s accomplished in his career and the way he’s still finding ways to improve, rating Barnes anything lower than an 80 is very questionable.

Richaun Holmes: 79 Overall

Despite coming off a career-best season in Sacramento, it’s surprising to see Richaun Holmes snubbed from 2K’s top 100 player list in the newest edition of their game. This decision comes off as especially jarring considering the fact Holmes ranked No. 32 in the NBA in terms of Win Shares per 48 minutes. He also ranked 14th among centers. This is very surprising considering the Kings weren’t actually winning very many games.

Holmes has really come into his own as one of the rising big men in the league, so it’s very surprising to see him receive a rating on par with the likes of Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge. At this point in their careers, it’s obvious that Richaun is the superior player. When unproven big men like Wendell Carter are being ranked higher, it’s clear to see that Holmes is going to have to put on a show this year to receive the respect he deserves.

De’Aaron Fox: 85 Overall

Seemingly every star took a dip in ratings this year, so I’m not so much complaining about the 85 overall rating here, but more so where 2K believes De’Aaron Fox falls amongst his rivals. Fox shares his rating with other guards such as Ja Morant, Jamal Murray, and CJ McCollum. Despite being a much better playmaker than Murray and McCollum, Fox also leads the pack in points per game and most advanced statistical categories.

Let’s instead compare him to someone like Donovan Mitchell, who received an 88 overall rating.

• Fox: 25.2 PTS, 3.5 REB, 7.2 AST, 1.5 STL, 52.3 eFG%, 20.7 PER
• Mitchell: 26.4 PTS, 4.4 REB, 5.2 AST, 1.0 STL, 52.0 eFG%, 21.3 PER

You could blame this one being located in Sacramento, but it’s not like Utah is a media hot spot either. Fox is colleagues with the upper echelon of guards in the NBA, but it looks like he won’t get that respect until the team starts winning games.

Full Sacramento Kings NBA 2K22 Roster Ratings:

• De’Aaron Fox: 85 OVR
• Tyrese Haliburton: 81 OVR
• Buddy Hield: 79 OVR
• Richaun Holmes: 79 OVR
• Harrison Barnes: 78 OVR
• Tristan Thompson:  77 OVR
• Alex Len: 76 OVR
• Davion Mitchell: 76 OVR
• Terence Davis: 74 OVR
• Chimezie Metu: 74 OVR
• Maurice Harkless: 72 OVR
• Damian Jones: 71 OVR
• Robert Woodard: 70 OVR
• Jahmi’us Ramsey: 70 OVR
• Louis King: 68 OVR

Interestingly enough, the Sacramento Kings’ 2021 second-round draft pick Neemias Queta is noticeably absent from the game. After a solid run in the Summer League, let’s hope 2K quickly amends this mistake so we can see the Portuguese big man in action.