You won’t find too many players in NBA 2K18 better than Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton.
Recently, NBA 2K18 made 30 All-Time rosters, one for each current NBA team.
There’s some glaring holes — BRANDON ROY — on Portland’s All-Time roster, but that’s another conversation for another day.
(One more thing: Nic Batum is on Portland’s All-Time roster. He’s a good a player, but not a historic Blazer at all.)
Among the Blazer All-Time team, we see Clyde Drexler (96 overall rating) and Bill Walton (95 overall rating) receive some of the highest marks in the game.
Gauging the rating of an old-school player like Walton is difficult, but 95 seems reasonable.
Big Red played four seasons for the Portland Trail Blazers. His stint includes the one championship in Blazers history during the 1976-77 season.
The last two seasons with Portland in particular are where we see Peak Walton.
During the 1976-77 season he averaged 18.6 points per game and led the league with 14.4 rebounds per game. Following the championship, he put in 18.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.
Walton, with his 95 rating, is in the company of players like Bob Cousy (Celtics), Patrick Ewing (Knicks) and Ray Allen (Thunder technically, but really Seattle).
Clyde Drexler on the other hand is one point above Walton at 96.
The Glide played 11 and a half seasons with Portland before a trade sent him to Houston. (He also makes Houston’s All-Time team on NBA 2K18, but he’s a 91 overall for his Houston era.)
He made eight All-Star appearances in Portland, and is clearly the best Blazer statistically speaking; the amount of career categories he leads the Blazers in is astounding.
Maybe his most dominating season is 1991-92. He came in second in MVP voting after posting season averages of 25 points, 6.7 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game.
With a 96 overall rating, he’s one of the most dominant players in the game. His company at 96 includes: Isiah Thomas (Pistons), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lakers) and Steve Nash (Suns).
The All-Time teams by NBA 2K18 are a cheap gimmick that lessens its relevancy by omitting star players.
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But it’s still fun to see who’s ranked where and with who, because video games, like sports, are meant to be fun.
When the Blazers are getting blown out in a mid-January snoozer, you can plug in 2K18 and take your frustrations out with Drexler-to-Walton alley-oops.
It’s what history would want.