NBA 2K teases Conference Finals rating boosts, asks fans to vote

NBA 2K26 has made ratings feel like part of the playoff bracket, not a sidebar to it. The game’s official ratings page says it is the source for in-game ratings news and updates, and 2K says those numbers move with recent 2025-2026 regular-season performance. With Season 6 branded for the NBA Playoffs and MyNBA offering online NBA Playoffs, the latest tease asking fans which Conference Finals player’s rating will soar fits a bigger pattern: in 2K’s world, the postseason is a live ratings race.

That is why the new Conference Finals question lands with so much built-in debate. 2K has already used playoff simulations to map out the bracket, including a postseason forecast that pointed to the Pistons, Knicks, Thunder and Spurs, and it has already rewarded playoff-adjacent production in its own updates. Player Ratings Update #10 bumped Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and OG Anunoby ahead of the postseason, while the ratings page spotlighted Brandon Miller at 87 overall, up one point, after he averaged 27.8 points per game over the previous two weeks. The message is clear enough for anyone who lives in the Ratings hub: hot stretches get translated into numbers fast.

The likeliest names to move again start with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. If Oklahoma City keeps rolling through the Conference Finals, his bump would most likely show up in shot creation, ball handling and finishing, the attributes that make a lead guard feel automatic in 2K. For users, that kind of rise changes everything about a Thunder lineup: cleaner late-clock possessions, more reliable rim pressure and a stronger offense when the game slows down.

Karl-Anthony Towns is another obvious watch. A playoff bump for Towns would most naturally hit his three-point shooting, rebounding and interior scoring, turning New York’s spacing from useful to punishing. In-game, that is the difference between a big who can survive on the floor and a big who forces opponents to defend every inch.

Tyrese Maxey sits in the same lane as the fastest riser on the board. His ceiling in 2K usually comes from speed, acceleration, three-point consistency and shot creation off the dribble. If those numbers climb, Philadelphia gets a guard who is harder to contain in transition and far more dangerous when a possession breaks down.

OG Anunoby and Tobias Harris round out the most plausible bump candidates because playoff performance for them usually translates into defense and dependable shooting. Anunoby’s value is in perimeter defense, steals and lateral quickness, the stuff that makes switch-heavy lineups feel real. Harris, meanwhile, gets more useful the more 2K trusts his spot-up shooting and stamina. That is the shape of the watchlist now: one more big playoff stretch, one more ratings tick, and the Conference Finals starts looking like a live update instead of a game mode menu.