NBA 2K15 Power Forward Ratings (12/23/14)

Power Forward has been a controversial position in the past decade for NBA 2K.  The evolution of the stretch-four these last 15 years had largely out-dated 2K's Overall rating formula for the position.  This problem was not rectified until NBA 2K15. Despite that, Overall ratings across the position are still a mess.  I feel like the top 10 is the most accurate of the five positions, but from 11-60 the ratings are quite muddled.  Many quality players are not given due credit, while others who are barely effective still reside in the upper-middle tiers.

It might seem odd for me to list AST% on a Power Forwards I think it's best to know who the absolute best offensive players are and work from there.

POWER FORWARD (73)
1-10
94 (+6) Anthony Davis (33.4 PER, 63 TS%, 27 USG%, 9 AST%)
89 (-1) Tim Duncan (22.8 PER, 53 TS%, 25 USG%, 16 AST%)
89 (NC) Blake Griffin (22.4 PER, 55 TS%, 31 USG%, 23 AST%)
89 (+1) Dirk Nowitzki (21.1 PER, 57 TS%, 27 USG%, 13 AST%)
88 (NC) LaMarcus Aldridge (22.8 PER, 52 TS%, 29 USG%, 10 AST%)
87 (-2) Kevin Love (18.0 PER, 57 TS%, 21 USG%, 10 AST%)
86 (+2) Zach Randolph (20.5 PER, 53 TS%, 25 USG%, 7 AST%)
84 (+2) Pau Gasol (19.8 PER, 53 TS%, 25 USG%, 12 AST%)
84 (-1) Paul Millsap (18.9 PER, 55 TS%, 24 USG%, 15 AST%)
81 (+1) Greg Monroe (18.5 PER, 54 TS%, 24 USG%, 11 AST%)

The gap between Anthony Davis and Duncan/Griffin/Dirk (5 OVR to 11-12 PER) is the same gap between those players and Gasol/Millsap (5 OVR to 2-3 PER).  That obviously doesn't make much sense.  Davis is in a class by himself right now.  His PER would finish as the highest mark in NBA history, and while it's unlikely he sustains THAT level over the course of the season he is still going to finish  28-30 PER range, among the greatest to ever play the game.

30 PER CLUB
Michael Jordan: 4 (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991)
LeBron James: 4 (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013)
Wilt Chamberlain: 3 (1962, 1963, 1964)
Shaquille O'Neal: 3 (1999, 2000, 2001)
David Robinson: 1 (1994)
Dwyane Wade: 1 (2009)
Tracy McGrady: 1 (2003)

Clearly exclusive company for 21-year old Anthony Davis.

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Dirk Nowitzki is simply not playing as well as he did last season, and his scoring is more in line with his 2012 and 2013 levels.  Dallas has been able to maintain their stellar play because Tyson Chandler has been playing out of this world.

Kevin Love has not been able to stay productive as the 3rd option in Cleveland despite a smaller role.  Predictably, relegating Love to the perimeter has hurt his offensive rebound game.

11-20
81 (+1) Taj Gibson (17.7 PER, 56 TS%, 19 USG%, 8 AST%)
81 (+1) David West (16.7 PER, 48 TS%, 23 USG%, 20 AST%)
81 (-3) Serge Ibaka (15.9 PER, 54 TS%, 20 USG%, 5 AST%)
80 (+3) Amare Stoudemire (20.2 PER, 60 TS%, 23 USG%, 8 AST%)
80 (+2) Jared Sullinger (17.7 PER, 52 TS%, 22 USG%, 13 AST%)
80 (-1) Kenneth Faried (15.4 PER, 54 TS%, 20 USG%, 8 AST%)
79 (+2) Ryan Anderson (18.0 PER, 54 TS%, 24 USG%, 5 AST%)
78 (+1) Terrence Jones (19.1 PER, 56 TS%, 22 USG%, 10 AST%)
78 (X) Markieff Morris (17.3 PER, 55 TS%, 23 USG%, 12 AST%)

David West is not shooting the ball well and is barely getting to the FT line.  The Pacers are only 3-13 since West returned to the lineup (6-9 without him) and his decline in play is the core reason for that.

Serge Ibaka has seen his efficiency shrivel up since expanding his range to the 3PT line.  Similar to Kevin Love's situation, fewer offensive rebounds has lead to fewer quality looks on the interior.

Amare's play has been one of the lone bright spots on a brutal Knicks team (though it's worth noting he has done most of his damage at center).

Kenneth Faried is having his worst offensive season to date, and rumors are he is clashing with teammates and coach Brian Shaw.  A trade could be inevitable.

Terrence Jones has only played 4 games due to injury but his production was equivalent to what he was doing last season.

21-30
78 (-2) Nene (14.4 PER, 50 TS%, 22 USG%, 13 AST%)
78 (NC) Boris Diaw (13.2 PER, 54 TS%, 17 USG%, 20 AST%)
78 (NC) Thaddeus Young (12.8 PER, 48 TS%, 22 USG%, 11 AST%)
77 (+2) Enes Kanter (18.0 PER, 56 TS%, 25 USG%, 5 AST%)
77 (+1) Tristan Thompson (16.7 PER, 58 TS%, 15 USG%, 4 AST%)
77 (NC) Amir Johnson (16.1 PER, 59 TS%, 16 USG%, 9 AST%)
77 (NC) J.J. Hickson (14.4 PER, 48 TS%, 20 USG%, 9 AST%)
77 (NC) Kevin Garnett (14.2 PER, 48 TS%, 18 USG%, 14 AST%)
77 (+1) Channing Frye (9.0 PER, 56 TS%, 12 USG%, 6 AST%)
76 (-1) Luis Scola (16.1 PER, 51 TS%, 21 USG%, 13 AST%)

Age and perennial injuries are starting to catch up to Nene, and he's coming off the bench now in an effort to keep him healthier.  Boris Diaw is shooting only 30% from 3PT range, down from last year's 40%.  In Thaddeus Young's first season outside of Philadelphia he's having the worst season of his career.  He's just not meant to be a high-usage player.  Channing Frye is the rare player who decided to take a big payday for a SMALLER role on a LOSING team.  8 million to be a 3pt specialist???

31-40
76 (+1) Carl Landry (15.6 PER, 60 TS%, 19 USG%, 5 AST%)
75 (+3) Marreese Speights (23.5 PER, 58 TS%, 30 USG%, 8 AST%)
75 (+2) Ersan Ilyasova (18.7 PER, 57 TS%, 23 USG%, 9 AST%)
75 (NC) Nikola Mirotic (18.1 PER, 62 TS%, 18 USG%, 10 AST%)
75 (NC) Patrick Patterson (16.7 PER, 63 TS%, 13 USG%, 10 AST%)
75 (-3) Carlos Boozer (16.5 PER, 52 TS%, 22 USG%, 10 AST%)
75 (NC) Brandon Bass (16.1 PER, 55 TS%, 21 USG%, 7 AST%)
75 (+3) Mike Scott (15.7 PER, 60 TS%, 23 USG%, 10 AST%)
75 (+1) Trevor Booker (13.8 PER, 56 TS%, 18 USG%, 8 AST%)
75 (+2) Cody Zeller (13.5 PER, 54 TS%, 16 USG%, 8 AST%)

Speights is the main reason the Warriors haven't missed David Lee one bit.  It's rare to get a backup big this good at creating his own offense.  Ilysasova is back to his usual self with Larry Drew out as coach.  Mirotic is the league's best rookie, though he'll need more minutes to have a shot at Rookie of the Year.  Patterson is likewise a pretty good player, have we noticed a trend yet with stretch-fours being underrated?

Boozer and Bass are solid starting caliber players. Compare the 75 OVR players on the PF list to the ones on the PG list (Jameer Nelson, D.J. Augustin, Mo Williams, Trey Burke) and it's clear the position as a whole is pretty underrated.

41-50
75 (+1) Reggie Evans (11.6 PER, 50 TS%, 13 USG%, 5 AST%)
75 (NC) Thomas Robinson (11.6 PER, 53 TS%, 19 USG%, 2 AST%)
75 (NC) Jason Thompson (7.7 PER, 47 TS%, 12 USG%, 6 AST%)
74 (+4) Kyle O'Quinn (20.0 PER, 59 TS%, 21 USG%, 14 AST%)
74 (+6) Lavoy Allen (17.3 PER, 53 TS%, 15 USG%, 9 AST%)
74 (NC) Glen Davis (13.8 PER, 57 TS%, 16 USG%, 6 AST%)
74 (+1) Kris Humphries (13.0 PER, 48 TS%, 19 USG%, 5 AST%)
74 (+1) Matt Bonner (12.5 PER, 58 TS%, 14 USG%, 8 AST%)
74 (+2) Jason Smith (11.5 PER, 52 TS%, 22 USG%, 9 AST%)
74 (-2) Nerlens Noel (10.6 PER, 47 TS%, 16 USG%, 10 AST%)

O'Quinn and Lavoy Allen haven't gone unnoticed by 2K but with this list we can see they should be rated even higher.  Robinson is rated 6 points higher than Joel Freeland (the guy he plays behind).  How this trio of Kings PFs is anywhere close to Carl Landry is beyond me.

51-60
74 (NC) Josh McRoberts (10.3 PER, 61 TS%, 13 USG%, 18 AST%)
74 (+1) Marvin Williams (9.1 PER, 56 TS%, 12 USG%, 7 AST%)
74 (+1) Anthony Tolliver (7.8 PER, 52 TS%, 14 USG%, 5 AST%)
73 (+1) Udonis Haslem (10.2 PER, 48 TS%, 16 USG%, 6 AST%)
73 (-1) Nick Collison (8.6 PER, 44 TS%, 14 USG%, 12 AST%)
72 (+1) Jonas Jerebko (16.0 PER, 58 TS%, 17 USG%, 9 AST%)
72 (+1) Mirza Teletovic (14.6 PER, 57 TS%, 20 USG%, 11 AST%)
72 (-1) Tyler Hansbrough (9.4 PER, 50 TS%, 9 USG%, 3 AST%)
71 (NC) Jeff Adrien (16.3 PER, 52 TS%, 12 USG%, 13 AST%)
71 (+2) Darrell Arthur (15.4 PER, 51 TS%, 21 USG%, 13 AST%)

After the top 50 we get to specialist territory, though Jerebko, Teletovic, and Arthur are certainly better than that.

61-73
71 (+1) Anthony Bennett (13.3 PER, 47 TS%, 18 USG%, 9 AST%)
71 (+2) Donatas Motiejunas (12.7 PER, 54 TS%, 19 USG%, 9 AST%)
71 (NC) Andrew Nicholson (3.8 PER, 36 TS%, 20 USG%, 7 AST%)
70 (+1) Jon Leuer (13.2 PER, 49 TS%, 19 USG%, 8 AST%)
70 (NC) Drew Gooden (10.7 PER, 49 TS%, 17 USG%, 8 AST%)
70 (+3) Quincy Acy (10.2 PER, 55 TS%, 13 USG%, 8 AST%)
69 (NEW) Tarik Black (11.9 PER, 55 TS%, 13 USG%, 3 AST%)
69 (+1) Joel Freeland (11.8 PER, 54 TS%, 16 USG%, 4 AST%)
69 (+4) Brandon Davies (10.7 PER, 48 TS%, 19 USG%, 12 AST%)
69 (X) Hedo Turkoglu (9.9 PER, 66 TS%, 12 USG%, 8 AST%)
68 (NC) Dante Cunningham (10.4 PER, 58 TS%, 11 USG%, 3 AST%)
68 (NC) Jason Maxiell (4.5 PER, 39 TS%, 12 USG%, 2 AST%)
66 (NEW) Travis Wear (7.5 PER, 46 TS%, 18 USG%, 10 AST%)

Leuer has been underrated for a few years.  Ditto for Cunningham.  Nicholson has lost all his playing time to Channing Frye, which doesn't bode well for his future in the league.

LESS THAN 100 MINUTES (19)
82 (NC) David Lee (14.3 PER, 46 TS%, 27 USG%, 0 AST%)
76 (NC) Julius Randle (-7.4 PER, 26 TS%, 15 USG%, 0 AST%)
72 (NC) Noah Vonleh (14.9 PER, 51 TS%, 15 USG%, 0 AST%)
72 (-2) Andrei Kirilenko (2.8 PER, 22 TS%, 10 USG%, 4 AST%)
71 (NC) Jarnell Stokes (25.9 PER, 61 TS%, 21 USG%, 9 AST%)
71 (NC) Ryan Kelly (19.4 PER, 63 TS%, 15 USG%, 6 AST%)
71 (NC) Adreian Payne (DNP)
70 (NC) Jeremy Evans (9.2 PER, 42 TS%, 14 USG%, 5 AST%)
69 (NC) Charlie Villanueva (21.9 PER, 59 TS%, 31 USG%, 5 AST%)
69 (+1) Mitch McGary (12.7 PER, 80 TS%, 25 USG%, 0 AST%)
69 (-2) DeJuan Blair (0.7 PER, 43 TS%, 11 USG%, 4 AST%)
67 (NEW) Dwight Powell (34.2 PER, 77 TS%, 38 USG%, 0 AST%)
67 (NC) Johnny O'Bryant (7.9 PER, 68 TS%, 18 USG%, 6 AST%)
67 (NC) Louis Amundson (5.7 PER, 49 TS%, 10 USG%, 7 AST%)

67 (+1) Cameron Bairstow (-2.7 PER, 17 TS%, 14 USG%, 4 AST%)
67 (NEW) Grant Jerrett (-7.0 PER, 30 TS%, 30 USG%, 17 AST%)
67 (NEW) Clint Capela (-25.5 PER, 0 TS%, 46 USG%, 12 AST%)
66 (NEW) Cory Jefferson (12.7 PER, 51 TS%, 19 USG%, 6 AST%)
64 - Shavlik Randolph (7.8 PER, 31 TS%, 15 USG%, 5 AST%)

FREE AGENTS (21)
73 (NC) Rashard Lewis (DNP)
70 (NC) Kenyon Martin (DNP)
69 (+1) Arnett Moultrie (DNP)
67 (NEW) Patric Young (DNP)
67 (NC) Jeremy Tyler (DNP)
67 (NC) Jarvis Varnado (DNP)
67 (NC) Josh Powell (DNP)
67 (NC) Earl Clark (DNP)
67 (NC) Lamar Odom (DNP)
66 (NC) Malcolm Thomas (14.7 PER, 74 TS%, 12 USG%, 10 AST%)
66 (NEW) Drew Gordon (3.6 PER, 43 TS%, 17 USG%, 5 AST%)
66 (NC) Jan Vesely (DNP)
66 (NC) Chris Singleton (DNP)
65 (NC) Erik Murphy (DNP)
65 (NC) D.J. White (DNP)
65 (NC) Brian Cook (DNP)
64 (NEW) Ronald Roberts (DNP)
64 (NC) Jon Brockman (DNP)
63 (NC) Justin Harper (DNP)
62 (NC) Luke Harangody (DNP)
58 (NC) Darnell Jackson (DNP)