Kyrie Irving reacts to his 2K rating

In case you missed it, NBA 2K18 will feature Kyrie Irving as the cover athlete. This is an exciting development for the 25-year-old point guard who is coming off a career year.

With averages of 25.2 points, 5.8 assists on 47.3 percent shooting from the floor and 40.1 percent from three; Irving took another step towards establishing himself as part of the NBA’s elite tier of players.

Despite this growth, and (as he points out many times) being the cover athlete, his rating in the upcoming edition of 2K is only one point higher than it was at the start of last season, landing at a 90, but he doesn’t intend to stay there.

You can see his reaction here:

One of the great things about 2K is that it adjusts the ratings throughout the year based on performance. While I doubt Irving needed more motivation than he already has, it’ll be interesting to see which aspects of his game grow next season.

This summer is the first time in over three years that Irving has a summer off to work on his game. With a summer of injury rehab sandwiched between two stints with Team USA, he finally has time to rest and work on his craft.

At 25 years old, Irving is now just starting to enter his prime and this is typically where you begin to see players take the leap. With few high impact moves made by the organization this summer, Irving’s play consistently being at the level of the other top point guards in this league is likely necessary if the Cavs are going to win another championship.