Bronny James Receives a Very Favorable Rating in NBA 2K25

Bronny James is already the most scrutinized second-round pick in the history of the NBA. Then again, he’s not the typical second-round pick, being the son of an all-time legend and having signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with his father’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bronny James has yet to play a second in an NBA regular-season game, but he’s already faced a career’s worth of criticism. Unfortunately for him, he’ll operate under a microscope, even when LeBron James decides to retire (whenever that will be).

The younger James has a long way to go to gain full acceptance as an NBA player. However, he has the respect of one basketball figure who wields power across the league.

On Friday, Ronnie Singh — who’s better known as “Ronnie 2K,” the player ratings overlord for the wildly popular NBA 2K video game franchise — posted the latest rookie ratings for NBA 2K25.

No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher tied for top honors with No. 2 selection Alex Sarr with a rating of 75. Other notable ratings were Reed Sheppard’s 73 and Zach Edey’s 72. Edey, who was drafted ninth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies, is the slight betting favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year over Sheppard, who went third overall to the Houston Rockets.

Not far from the top tier of 2K25 rookies is Bronny James with a rating of 68.

James has the lowest rating, but he’s not the only one with a 68. He shares it with 16 other second-round selections.

Most notably, James stands just two points below the Lakers’ top pick, Dalton Knecht, who was given a rating of 70.

Much has been made of James’ legitimacy as an NBA player. He started only six games and averaged 4.8 points for a USC team that finished 15-18 overall and ninth in the Pac-12. At 6-foot-2, he is expected to spend most of his first season with the Lakers’ G League team, learning how to play point guard but also to become an efficient scorer.

It’ll take time for him to develop an NBA game. For now, he has an NBA 2K25 rating that, with all things considered, really isn’t that bad.