James Harden is one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA.
The Beard regularly toasted defenses — lighting it up from midrange, beyond the arc or while Euro-stepping to the hoop and sinking free throws — en route to averaging 27.4 points per game last season.
Harden's explosive offensive game powered him to the pinnacle of NBA 2K16's Top 10 Shooting Guards rankings with a player rating of 92 in the upcoming title, scheduled for a September 29 release. Harden's rating is five more points than the Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson (87), six more than each the Chicago Bulls' Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade (86) and seven more than five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant (85), rounding out the first five. So ... who's going to tell Kobe he's not ranked No. 1? He already knows that this is his lowest player rating ever in the 2K series.
The top 10 shooting-guard ratings in #NBA2K16. We'll be posting up new top 10's everyday at 10AM PST! RT!
— NBA 2K 2K16 (@NBA2K) September 18, 2015
In all seriousness, though, it'd almost be blasphemous at this point to suggest that there's a better shooting guard in the NBA than the 26-year-old Harden, who's truly on top of his game. Yes, his defense still leaves a lot to be desired, but Harden's offensive firepower would never be questioned, thus, his 92 player rating more than warranted.
So far, NBA 2K has named NBA MVP and Golden State Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry its top point guard with a player rating of 93, and now, Harden the best shooting guard at 92. Being that New Orleans Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis is the game's other cover subject, it's a safe bet that he'll rank as the top power forward.
Just throwing it out there that NBA 2K will probably also name Sacramento Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins as the top center and of course, LeBron James as the best small forward.
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