Cavs NBA2K15 Player Ratings Leaked

NBA 2k15 is set to be released on October 7th across all major video game platforms. If you haven't seen the trailer, I suggest you do so now, because it is awesome:

Besides LeBron putting Shabazz Napier on a poster, the major takeaway from the trailer is that the game looks just as good, if not better, than 2k14. Chris Andersen's beard is immaculate and the Hornets' jerseys look amazing. Heck, they even got Ernie Johnson's wrinkle game down.

While we wait for training camp to start and the game to be released, NBA 2k15 also gives us something to aimlessly debate about in the meantime: player rankings. The rankings for the Cavs have allegedly been leaked, and can be seen below (h/t to Cavs Nation).

- LeBron James: 98

- Kevin Love: 89

- Kyrie Irving: 88

- Dion Waiters: 78

- Shawn Marion: 77

- Tristan Thompson: 76

- Anderson Varejao: 75

- Mike Miller: 74

- Matthew Dellavedova: 72

- John Lucas: 69

- James Jones: 69

- Malcolm Thomas: 66

- Brendan Haywood: 65

Some quick thoughts:

- Anderson Varejao appears quite low on this list, despite his reputation as a quality defensive center. There are a few explanations possible for this. First, injury history might rate into that, as Varejao's injuries over the past four years have made him very difficult to assess for anyone. Also, 2k for whatever reason always seems to underrate centers compared to players at other positions; I specifically remember from NBA 2k8 that Zydrunas Ilgauskas was rated at about an 80 or 81, on level with players like a beyond-washed up Steve Francis and Mike James. They do this every year to post players, so I'm not too concerned.

- 89 feels a little low for Love, given his stats last year. However, I do enjoy that they put Kyrie and Love one point apart, because we really do have no idea who is going to have the bigger role this year.

- 69 seems quite high for John Lucas. It's inconsequential, but John Lucas is that bad.

- Finally, I think Waiters and Thompson are rated properly, given where they currently are. Waiters has more scoring potential, and thus gets the slightly higher rating, but I think these are both fair. I expect both to be better this season than they were last year, but we all know how difficult it is to project these two's development, so I'm fine with 78 and 76.

Oh, and rankings aren't the only 2k-related Cavs thing to come out today:

If anyone can come up with a reason why Love rubs LeBron's forehead before he goes through the tunnel, please let me know in the comments.