Minnesota Timberwolves: NBA 2k19 player rating predictions

NBA 2k19 player predictions are starting to come out slowly, but here are predictions for Minnesota Timberwolves players in the new game.

NBA 2k19, one of the biggest games in the video game world is set to come out in September, and the player ratings are slowly coming out.

As we’ll explore below, we already know that Karl-Anthony Towns rating will be a 91, a one-point upgrade over last year’s overall rating.

While the predictions come out slowly over the next few weeks, let’s take a quick look at what we believe will be the next ratings in this year’s game.

Karl-Anthony Towns:

2017 Rating: 90

2018 Rating: 91

Why?

This has already been confirmed for this year, so there is no speculation here.

Jimmy Butler

2017 Rating: 89

2018 Rating: 90

Jimmy Butler was an All-Star last year and was a huge reason that the Wolves were able to make it to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 14 years. They could have been the third or fourth seed if not for his injury at the end of February.

Butler had another great defensive year and led the way for the Wolves, even averaging two steals per game, tying for second-best in the league. He scored 22.2 points per game and was a huge focal point to the Wolves’ season. There shouldn’t be any reason he goes under 89 to start the game, so why not start it on a high note at 90?

Andrew Wiggins

2017 Rating: 80

2018 Rating: 80

It would be hard to see a guy with so much potential drop below 80 after he averaged 17.7 points per game as a third option. The former number-one overall pick started the year off as an 86, overall but plummeted as the expectations of him were a lot higher than he produced. Wiggins will have to earn it this year if he wants to see his rating go up.

Jeff Teague

2017 Rating: 79

2018 Rating: 79

Teague never really saw much change in his rating last year, although his rating dropped as low as 76. For the most part, it was 79 all year and for a few weeks it was 78. No matter how poorly or how good he did, he never really saw his rating drop to a surprising number.

Teague didn’t show anything at the end of the season to show why his rating should go up or down. That rating could change as the season goes on — he is a year older, after all — but for now it looks to stay at 79.

Taj Gibson

2017 Rating: 77

2018 Rating: 76

As good as Taj Gibson was last season, he might see his rating go down one or two because he’s not getting any younger. Let’s face it, his numbers don’t stand out, although he did set some career marks on offense, but they don’t necessarily need to because of the talent on the team.

He does all the little things you want from a player, but 2k doesn’t reward that in a tangible way.

Anthony Tolliver

2017 Rating: 75

2018 Rating: 76

Tolliver exceeded expectations well last year by shooting a career-high percentage from 3-point range and is a new addition to the Wolves roster.

In 2017-18, Tolliver started the year as a 72, but climbed up to 75 at the end of the season. Rightfully so, he shot the ball well and scored points for the Detroit Pistons last year.

He ended the season going up two points and he could start the season going up one more. Tolliver could excel quite well because of the Wolves desperate need for his scoring and shooting.

Derrick Rose

2017 Rating: 74

2018 Rating: 76

Derrick Rose didn’t play like many had anticipated, based on his cup of coffee with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rose ended the season on a high note and was arguably the best or second-best player in the playoffs at times for Minnesota.

The regular season ended quite well, too, and we all know that the media and the 2k series loves Rose. Because of that and his big play at the end of the season, he could see his overall rating improve nicely to start out.

Tyus Jones

2017 Rating: 74

2018 Rating: 75

Tyus Jones had a fairly good season, but he still needs to show out more for the rest of the world to recognize the little things he does. In the playoffs he had that chance, but never played well and in result of that, his minutes dropped.

His defense was great and he stepped up when Teague went down with an injury. Another year under his belt and a solid season should result in his rating going up in the right direction.

More from Dunking with Wolves

• The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
• Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
• In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
• Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
• Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?

Josh Okogie

2017 Rating: N/A

2018 Rating: 74

It’s always hard to predict where a rookie’s first 2k rating will stand. Okogie has showed out in the Summer League and even looked superb on the defensive end. His offense is still a question mark right now, but his defense should make up for it and that should be deserving of a 74 rating.

Keita Bates-Diop

2017 Rating: N/A

2018 Rating: 73

I think if he had ended up being drafted in the first round, Keita Bates-Diop would get a 74 rating. But because he slipped to the second round, 2k will probably drop him by one point.

Bates-Diop showed great potential on both ends of the floor in Las Vegas Summer League and does look further along than Okogie.

Justin Patton

2017 Rating: 70

2018 Rating: 70

Justin Patton never really got the chance to play as a rookie due to injury. Other than one game at the end of the season, Patton only saw limited run in the G-League before undergoing the knife again this spring.

Patton was drafted as a raw prospect but with high upside. His strong G-League performances are the only thing keeping him from dropping under 70. Until we see more from him, he looks like a big question mark and not much more.

Next: A 3-team trade idea for the Timberwolves

We’ll be back with the analysis of the actual ratings once they are released later this fall.