Hi guys and gals.

Today I'll be going over the Phoenix Suns player ratings in NBA2k17. I realize a large number of my fellow Bright Siders don't play the game, but perhaps this will be of a little interest to you anyway. To those of you who do play, here's an article showing all the ratings for Suns players, that you can use as your platform to discuss how you feel about them. Here is my two cents about each rating.

Eric Bledsoe - 85 overall

So, obviously I'm okay with this one. They did alright with this. Which is astounding, as they tend to underrate our guys a little, while overrating players who some of our guys are better than. But I digress. Bledsoe's rating seems appropriate for a player who last year, before the injury, was putting up all star numbers. Heck, superstar numbers. In seasons before when he was just averaging his standard 17 5 and 5, I always felt those were good enough to be all star numbers when paired with his stellar defense, and this year he upped his game and averaged 20 4 and 6. The only qualm I have is with his 3 point rating. He's certainly not a "sharp shooter", but he's no slouch in the 3 point department either. They gave him a D.

Brandon Knight - 78 overall

Alright, I'm a tad bit baffled by this. Sure Knight had injuries, and his efficiency fell by a little (went from shooting 39% from 3 in MIL to 34% from 3 in PHX), but he still upped his scoring average while attempting to carry the load for a Suns team missing Bledsoe, Warren, and others, while playing injured. But whatever. He's a poor defender and his best attribute (his three point shooting) was down last season, so I understand it. I just don't like it. I expect a quick rise in the ratings for him after a month or two of playing next to Bledsoe and demolishing opposing team's backcourts (with the exception of like, the Warriors, Blazers, and Wizards).

Devin Booker - 78 overall

Here's the one I'm sure many of you are up in arms about. Devin Booker only given a B- in 3 point shooting? But yes, if they're gonna do it to Knight, who had just the previous season before this last one been shooting 3's at 39% on 5 attempts per game, then they're definitely going to do it to Booker even though before being shoved into the spotlight he was shooting 60% from long range. The rest of his attributes seem pretty fair though.

TJ Warren - 76 overall

Again with the 3 point underrating! TJ Warren was shooting 40% from 3 last year before he went down with injury, and they give him an F! This is preposterous. I'm beginning to see a trend. I mean, of course it was only on 1.5 attempts per game, and of course when he ups that (hopefully) this season, he will regress a little in accuracy, but still. Ugh. The rest seems fairly accurate though.

Jared Dudley - 76 overall

Alright, so the creators of NBA2k seem to agree with me that Dudz isn't as crap an addition as many people seem to think. I honestly think he will do wonders for the Suns offense. He was given a pretty decent rating of 76. Actually 1 up from last year when he was a 75. Last year, in the beginning, team's didn't really have to respect Keef's 3 point shot. He could hit it, but it wasn't something they HAD to stop. You HAVE to stop Jared Dudley from shooting the 3. Which brings me back to the trend I mentioned earlier. Dudley has averaged 39% on 3 attempts per game for his career. And they gave him a C+. Because of course they did.

PJ Tucker - 75 overall

They rated him fairly in everything except, you guessed it, 3 point shooting. An F. An F. An F. PJ Tucker isn't the world's best 3 point shooter. But come on. He hits at league average right? So how is hitting the 3 at league average worthy of an F? They are seriously trying to screw us over in gameplay. Especially for those of us who's main style of play is drive with Bledsoe and score or dish it out to a 3 point shooter. Since that's really all I do, this is going to screw me.

Alex Len - 75 overall

Well, Alex Len actually got worse from the previous season too I think... Though I guess shooting 40% from the field as a center can have an adverse effect on your rating. So okay.

Tyson Chandler - 74 overall

Okay Tyson, coming down a little. At the beginning of 2k16 he was a 78. This is quite a dip. But you know, old. And injury last year. And he plays for the Suns, so forget him, right?

Leandro Barbosa - 73 overall

This is where I stop going into too much detail. I'm actually surprised Barbosa got this high a rating. You can view it that way, or you can also view it as: I can't believe the players immediately above Barbosa got a rating so similar to that of Barbosa. Whatever you feel like.

Archie Goodwin - 72 overall

A shooting guard who can't shoot. Or a point guard who can't pass. And neither of those two personas can play defense. So this seems fair.

Dragan Bender - 72 overall

He's a rookie and is considered a project. I'm fine with this. F in 3 point shooting. Of course.

Marquese Chriss - 71 overall

A rookie who is considered even more of a project than Bender. Okay. Also an F in 3 point shooting.

Alan Williams (aka Big Sauce) - 70 overall

I had to throw the nickname in there. I mean, this seems okay. Not much to say about this either.

Tyler Ulis - 69 overall

Rookie who was a 2nd round pick. Okay.

John Jenkins - 69 overall

I can dig it.

At first glance, the ratings seem pretty fair. But then you notice what a grievous mistake they made when rating our 3 point shooting.