Ronnie 2K responds to Giannis Antetokounmpo's displeasure with NBA 2K25 rating

With the ratings for players in the popular video game franchise, NBA 2K, recently hitting the airwaves ahead of the release of NBA 2K25 in September, Milwaukee Bucks fans and even some players were not pleased with particular placements.

To talk about what went into the process regarding the ratings process for the Bucks, I spoke with Ronnie Singh, also known as Ronnie2K, the Digital Marketing Director for 2K Games, to get a good idea of what went into the process to give these players their ratings.

Ronnie2K talks about Giannis Antetokounmpo's rating, how he can climb

Currently, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Dallas' Luka Doncic and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo are all tied for the highest individual rating in the game at 97 overall. Antetokounmpo saw this on a post by the Bucks official account on Instagram and responded with "Yayyyy I'm 97" with an emoji of a facepalm, signaling his sarcasm and displeasure with the rating. Ronnie2K had some thoughts.

"Well, as you probably saw, he posted on IG yesterday saying he wasn't excited about his 97, which was surprising to me because that is the highest rating this year. Maybe he wants to be the number one guy, and he wanted it over the guy that went to the Western Conference Finals and carried that team on his back and the three-time reigning MVP... For him to be in that group, thought he would be happy, but maybe not.

What can he do to improve? Obviously, getting back to the promised land helps. You know, all of the extra games that go into that and being the top-level guy, taking [Damian Lillard] on a much-needed long run in the playoffs, he's never had that, so that's a big one... When he's hot, he's the best player in the league; there's no doubt... He's a little upset, so hopefully, it gives him a chip on his shoulder and he has a monster season in response. I'll take credit for the Bucks winning the championship this year if they do...

It's right there for Giannis. If he balls out, he could go up to 98, 99. Let's see what happens."

After becoming the first player in NBA history to average over 30 points while shooting 60 percent from the floor, sure, Antetokounmpo might disagree with his placement. However, the only thing he can do is use it as fuel to bump that rating up. As he said, Ronnie2K will certainly take any credit he can get if the Milwaukee Bucks do come out with a title due to the added motivation boost.

Ronnie2K talks about Bucks' Damian Lillard falling, how he can rise

Another Milwaukee Bucks player who likely isn't too happy with their rating is Damian Lillard, who is an 89 overall, ranked 21st in the entire game. Ronnie2K detailed what went into that rating and what the star point guard could do to bump it up a few ticks.

"He had kind of a bump start with Giannis. Maybe a lot of it was the hype behind it. You just thought that was going to work automatically. They had other issues, Milwaukee, that probably hurt Dame and probably put a big spotlight on him, and that's probably why it looks like such an "ouch," right, like, 21st highest-rated. It's a tough league. There are so many young guys that have come up and just grabbed those spots like [Victor Wembanyama], obviously [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander]. A lot of these guys are making headlines.

I don't think Dame is at that level where he's on the downslope, but he's going to have to have a massive bounce-back year. The ingredients are there for him. I think his rating is one that we all have to look out for and expect it to turn back up, but it comes with results. There's a big spotlight on him as the definitive number two in Milwaukee... I think he's got a chance to go up or down dramatically... I knew that that one was going to be contentious, but it's right there for Dame. Former cover athlete, so we expect big things."

Lillard undoubtedly took a step back in Milwaukee last season, but as alluded to, there were so many factors that went into that, primarily that the guard really couldn't workout last offseason due to the trade happening so late. This summer, Lillard has been in the gym like a madman, and it wouldn't be surprising if he got back into the 90s fairly quickly.

Ronnie2K on why people should use the Bucks on 2K25

Lastly, Ronnie2K talked about why the Milwaukee Bucks are a great team to play with when people are on 2K25.

"Obviously, when Dame went over there, you all of a sudden had a guy that each of them needed. Dame needed that pick-and-roll specialist and the guy that was going to go to the court and Giannis needed somebody to create spacing. Hopefully [Khris] Middleton is healthy, Bobby Portis continues what he does; he's such a great role player. They're a fun team. Any team that has Giannis is going to be fun. Obviously, he has the highest rating, tied with Nikola and Luka, third of those three out of 97, and we don't have a lot of those, so he makes any team fun. He is really like the prototypical video game player. The Bucks have been fun and will remain fun as long as Giannis is on that team."

It'd be hard not to have fun playing with a team of Giannis, Lillard and Middleton. Those are three players whose games are perfect for video games due to their ability to put together a highlight every single trip down the floor.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.