Being a consistent buyer of NBA 2K for the past 10 years, one of the things that helps me get through the boring days of the NBA offseason is checking out the content released as part of the game rollout. Specifically, their top 100 rated players in the game list that comes out every year prior to the game release.
So far, 2K has released half of the list, with the Pelicans having three players inside the top 87. Dejounte Murray is an 81 overall and ranked 87th, Herb Jones is an 81 and ranked 85th, and Trey Murphy is an 82 and ranked 78th on the list. Out of these three, the most shocking rating was Dejounte Murray's.
It appears that 2K is expecting a major regression from Murray as his final overall in 2K25 was an 84, yet heading into 2K26, he'll now be an 81. Part of this could be that because Murray suffered a major injury, they are anticipating his game to take a step back, but that's extremely unfair. Murray has dealt with a couple of significant injuries, yet has bounced back and been better each time.
Another unusual aspect of this rating drop-off is that Murray's rating is typically much higher because he does a bit of everything. If you know anything about 2K, these overalls come from a total of all the other attribute categories. This typically makes Murray's rating extremely high because he does a bit of everything as a point guard—good finisher, defender, passer, decent shooter, and has good speed and high basketball IQ.
With the rumored added muscle Murray has put on, you think his overall would only become higher, yet for some reason it's falling off.
More reason for Dejounte to have a chip on shoulder this season
Murray only being an 81 overall is the type of slap in the face the New Orleans Pelicans have grown accustomed to this summer. In no world is Murray worse than players like Jrue Holiday, Nikola Vučević, and Jalen Duren.
Although Murray doesn't strike me as someone who is checking his 2K rating for motivation, he is also the type of player who would use anything as a reason to get better.
Coming off a season of personal struggles and injuries, when Murray returns, the league should be ready for a rude awakening. The former All-Star still has the talent and skills to be a top 10 point guard in the league and is going to have a ton of doubters to silence.