Previewing Cleveland Cavaliers NBA 2K26 Player Ratings

The Cleveland Cavaliers had an objectively great campaign in the 2024-25 NBA season. Things may not have gone the way they wanted in the playoffs, but they still won over 60 games for the first time since LeBron James's first stint with the team.

A rash of injuries and some poor clutch execution led to them being eliminated before the Conference Finals for the third consecutive time since acquiring Donovan Mitchell, but Cleveland was undoubtedly a top title contender last year. This offseason, they opted against making major changes to the roster, banking on continued internal development from their young players, better health in the postseason, and the few marginal moves they did make to bring them over the hump next season.

Ultimately, their playoff failures were eerily similar to those from the first two years of the Donovan Mitchell era, but this team showed undeniable growth in Head Coach Kenny Atkinson's first year at the helm. While player ratings in NBA 2K are hardly a perfect measure of talent, the Cavaliers' development throughout 2K25 is a testament to how they improved as a unit and as individuals last year.

How will the Cleveland Cavaliers players be ranked in NBA 2K26?

NBA 2K26 isn't set to release until early September, but the final ratings update from the previous game should be a strong indicator of where the Cleveland Cavaliers and the other players might land. With them consistently exceeding expectations throughout the 2024-25 season, most of their ratings rose across the year, with some taking massive jumps from the first launch to the last iteration.

Donovan Mitchell opened at 92 and rose to a 94-overall behind an All-NBA First Team performance. That put him as a top-10 player in the game. Cleveland's two young stars, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, were their biggest risers. They both climbed six points, with Mobley going from 86 to 92, while Garland rose from 82 to 88.

Jarrett Allen also got a small boost from 82 to 84. So did De'Andre Hunter and Max Strus, who ended at 82 and 79.

Of the Cavaliers expected to be in the core rotation next season, only Lonzo Ball's rating took a hit from the start of NBA 2K25 to the final patch, modestly dropping from 79 to 78. Even Larry Nance Jr., who hardly saw the court last year, climbed from 76 to 77.

Part of the rise in these ratings can be attributed to the overall inflation seen in NBA 2K as a franchise, but they're also a testament to the success the Cavaliers found throughout their 64-win season. They're projected to be a dominant team both in NBA 2K26 and in the real world next year.