A lot changed in the case of Los Angeles Lakers when the team made the decision to 2K23 MT
trade for Russell Westbrook last summer. Los Angeles traded legitimate NBA assets and a first round pick for Westbrook in the move that was widely decried at the time. Many of those who opposed the deal proved right, and Westbrook was the biggest obstacle in the team's back last season. Now, the Lakers find themselves in a place where they're in a position to benefit should they decide to trade Westbrook but they might have gave up hope of that happening.

The sad thing is that Westbrook seems to believe that he's an elite player. He took a small amount of responsibility of the team's failures in his post-game interview last season. Westbrook has a basketball ego that is very hard to break. Maybe the people at NBA 2K23 can break that self-confidence a little but. The ratings for the game are already coming out and Westbrook's rating is not one of a superstar player (which claims he is). It's that of the bench player with a rotational system.

Russell Westbrook was given an ugly 78 overall rating on NBA 2K23. Russell Westbrook has the fourth-highest 2K23 rating of the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook is obviously behind both LeBron and Anthony Davis but he is also behind his newest teammate as well. The 2K team gave Patrick Beverley a 79 overall rating, which is probably an appropriate reflection of where he's at in his career.

Westbrook was shared the top spot with Kendrick Nunn and is barely above the ranks of Thomas Bryant and Lonnie Walker IV. This is a significant loss of grace for Westbrook, but it is 100% justified. Westbrook fans will be furious with this rating and point toward his box score as the reason why his rating should be in the 80s to mid-80s. Anyone who actually watched Lakers playing basketball during the season is aware of how misleading the box score is, though it is also how badly Westbrook performed last season.

The former MVP has always been a tad overrated when it is a winning player (he has won just one championship series in his career since Kevin Durant left OKC) but it is not impossible to see his athleticism and skill set. This might as well translate into 2K when it wasn't translating into Buy 2K MT winning basketball in the real world.