LeBron James began last year as the highest rated player with NBA 2K16. He was surpassed by Stephen Curry mid-season who eventually would rise to a level that only trailed "peak" Michael Jordan. It was the first time in five years that James didn't hold the top spot in the video game series.



By the end of the season though James recaptured the crown in winning NBA Finals MVP and once again could be labeled as the best player in the world. With NBA 2K17 LeBron James again begins the season as the top rated player.



96 - LeBron James (No Change)

94 - Stephen Curry (-2)

93 - Kevin Durant (-1)

93 - Russell Westbrook (-2)

93 - Kawhi Leonard (-1)

91 - Chris Paul (-1)

90 - Klay Thompson (-1)

90 - Draymond Green (+1)

90 - James Harden (-2)

90 - Anthony Davis (-1)

90 - DeMarcus Cousins (No Change)

89 - Paul George (-1)

89 - Kyrie Irving (+1)

89 - Damian Lillard (No Change)

88 - Carmelo Anthony (No Change)

88 - Karl-Anthony Towns (+2)

88 - Jimmy Butler (No Change)

88 - John Wall (-1)



While any dramatic movement in ratings wouldn't be expected over the offseason - unless the formula calculating them were to be changed - there have been some minor adjustments made across the league.



In the top group of players the majority have dropped 1-2 points, a handful have stayed the same, and only a few went up. Karl-Anthony Towns is the only player to rise by 2 points from where he finished last season. As the lone sophomore on the list his potential to grow and have an even better season is being factored in to that. It doesn't hurt that he's one of the 7 players who have marketing deals this year with 2K Sports.



Also of note is that new "Contested" shooting categories have been added with 2K17. In the past shot types were categorized as 'Standing' and 'Moving'. Now it's 'Open,' 'Contested' and 'Moving'. This is essentially in response to the conundrum the development team faced last year in properly representing Steph Curry. He has received a 99 Rating in all of the 3pt shooting categories.

MORE: The NBA 2K17 trailer will fire you up



The Golden State Warriors will begin 2K17 with the strongest roster in history according to 2K Sports. Even the roster for the greatest team ever the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls falls short of them. The Warriors have 4 players rated 90+ and the team's depth even extends the lead over the best teams of all-time.

"NBA 2K17" will be the second-earliest release ever for an NBA-licensed game (Sept. 16). Paul George is on the cover of the standard edition and Kobe Bryant is celebrated with the Legend Edition. The game will have a new feature allowing for league expansion in the Franchise modes. An early portion of the game's MyCareer story mode will release September 9 for free and feature 10 licensed colleges. The story mode will co-star Michael B. Jordan. Amazon Prime members can pre-order any version of 2K17 for 20 percent off.

Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the Press Row Podcast, and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.