3 unforgivable snubs by NBA 2k23 of Minnesota Timberwolves players

I: Overall rating of Minnesota Timberwolves

Okay, this is the heartbreaker. After all of the offseason moves, the NBA 2K23 ratings of the Minnesota Timberwolves is 81. So what? Well, when sorted, that places the Timberwolves as the 16th-ranked NBA team. That is preposterous.

Even if you take a very optimistic route of citing the Timberwolves as tied with nine other teams at the 11th-ranked position, that is still a bit underwhelming. After all, the Timberwolves finished out the 2021-22 NBA season with a record of 46-36, won their play-in to earn the seventh seeding in the NBA Playoffs, and had the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies on the ropes in Game 5 before blowing a commanding lead and losing that series by a mark of 4-2.

Since that time, the Timberwolves have most definitely improved their roster.

Too many ties and too much speculation

The Timberwolves are tied with the LA Clippers, the team that they defeated in their NBA Playoff play-in. The Chicago Bulls, a team that ended the season with the same 46-36 record, is ranked higher. The Atlanta Hawks, a team that finished with a 43-39 record, is ranked higher. Even the Brooklyn Nets, a team that until the past couple of days had two All-Star players demanding to be traded, is ranked higher.

The Timberwolves get lousy grades for outside scoring (Ranked 28th), Athleticism (Tied for 19th), Playmaking (Ranked 27th), and Intangibles (Ranked 24th).

Just a game? Perhaps. But it’s a game that reflects the current perceptions of NBA fans and NBA analysts. And it’s that propagation of a false narrative that other NBA teams have improved, while the Timberwolves have not, that is a bit frustrating in the offseason. NBA basketball games can only be decided on NBA basketball courts, and that has not changed.

Still, it would be nice to see evidence that others believe that the Timberwolves are on the right track before it’s all history.