NBA 2K21 Ratings Predictions: Dallas Mavericks - Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr. & more

Published: Sep 03, 2020, 12:54 am Updated: Sep 25, 2020, 5:23 pm

The Dallas Mavericks will be a problem after just barely falling short in the NBA Playoffs, and it'll show in the NBA 2K21 ratings.

There's no doubt the team led by young superstars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis will be back soon, and could be a championship contender very soon.

So how will they land in NBA 2K21?

Luka Doncic - 96 OVR

Luka Doncic has gone from promising prospect to superstar in his second season, and we expect more of the same as he evolves his game.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: Luka Doncic has evolved into an NBA superstar in just a couple years

Doncic hit an iconic buzzer beater in the NBA Playoffs, but couldn't fight through the Los Angeles Clippers with Porzingis, resulting in the Mavericks falling short.

But Doncic led the most efficient offense in NBA history this season, and he did with a very diverse skillset. This shows in his statlines which are massive in scoring and rebounding, with some nice ball distribution mixed in.

For NBA 2K21 ratings, we expect Doncic will improve massively to a 96 OVR rating. That will put him in elite company as one of the top 5 players in the game.

Kristaps Porzingis - 87 OVR

Kristaps Porzingis is a player like no other in the entire NBA, and at just 25-year-old, has a very bright future as he hones his craft.

EVOLUTION: Porzingis has grown as a scorer, and has a long career ahead of him

The 7'3 center can be a wall in the post, but his main asset is his ability to score from anywhere on the floor. This presents a huge challenge for defenses who have to choose between sticking a 1-4 on him to guard the range, or a 4-5 to deal with his paint game.

It shows in his statline where he has career-highs in rebounding, assists, and a top 25 average points per-game.

Porzingis' issue is staying healthy, as he hasn't played a full season yet in the NBA, ranging from 48-72 games a season and only playing 57 this year, not counting his injuries in the NBA Playoffs.

But a healthy Porzingis is a growing problem that NBA teams will have to continue to get better at handling. With this in mind, we expect Porzingis to bump up to an 87 OVR in the NBA 2K21 ratings.

Tim Hardaway Jr. - 80 OVR

The Dallas Mavericks MO is to score, score efficiently, and score often. Tim Hardaway Jr. offers this to the team from beyond the arc and at mid-range, and can be physical enough to hold down the 3-spot in a team sorely lacking talent at small forward.

Outside of scoring Hardaway Jr. is only good to okay, but he's good enough at his main role to get plenty of minutes with the Mavericks, and he's put in a solid 16 points per-game this season.

We expect this will land Tim Hardaway Jr. at the 80 OVR mark in NBA 2K21, a slight bump up.

Seth Curry - 80 OVR

Unfortunately for the Dallas Mavericks, the lineup outside of their two young superstars is quite a dropoff, and that starts with Seth Curry.

Curry is still a decent NBA talent, and could start on a number of different rosters in the league. He also put in a good season this year, pushing his standard of play just a bit across the board.

Curry remains a player that can test defenses beyond the arc, but offers less than other sharpshooters do elsewhere. Still, he's converting a little better on his minutes than ever before in his career this season, so we expect he'll hold at 80 OVR in NBA 2K21.

Dwight Powell - 79 OVR

Dwight Powell is one of the highest earning players on the Dallas Mavericks, and while he hasn't exactly earned it, he's still a role-player for the team.

Powell is one of several rotating paint players for the Mavericks, who utilize a deep bench of similarly skilled players to round out the bottom of the roster topped by Doncic and Porzingis. Powell starting roughly twice as many games as ever before in his career this year, despite playing roughly half as many games due to injury.

Powell brings decent paint offense to the table and rebounding to the table, with so-so defensive skills. This will show in the NBA 2K21 ratings which will land at 79 OVR.

Willie Cauley-Stein - 78 OVR

Outside of Porzingis, the Mavericks show some real weakness in their paint game, and Willie Cauley-Stein is one of the few bandages they have for this.

Cauley-Stein is a physical defender that can fight for rebounds against some better players, but outside of battling for easy paint points, he won't blow anyone away with his statline.

Cauley-Stein fits his role for the Dallas Mavericks, but that won't exactly be represented in his NBA 2K21 rating, which we expect will land at around 78 OVR.