Each sport video game has at least one character that everyone knows you’re not supposed to use against someone you respect. For as long as sport gamers can recall games have been disproportionately dominated by heroic, superhuman versions of real life professional athletes, such as Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl, Mike Vick in Madden 2004, Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, Peja Stojakovic in NBA Ballers, Jeremy Roenick in NHL 94, and Jon Dowd (Barry Bonds) in MVP Baseball 05.
With the consistent development of the video game industry over the last couple of decades we find ourselves playing more and more realistic animated versions of the sports we watch, and with each game release we inch a step closer to simulating an NBA 2K game feeling like we’re watching it live on TNT and garnering realistic results.
But, the broadcast and animations aren’t the only things that are vastly improving with each coming year. The realism of the athlete’s abilities and movements has become incredibly advanced to where players have their own cadences, running styles, injury likelihood, celebrations, likeness, physique, tattoos and even mentality with eye-opening precision.
Some athlete’s skills don’t translate very well to the digital realm, some become a super-subspecies of themselves and ruin the fun. Here’s a list of athlete’s that completely ruined or are ruining the fun in their respective games in 2022.
Top 10
10. Tyreek Hill, Madden 23
Tyreek Hill’s only weakness in Madden 23 seems to be the team he plays for. Tyreek has the fastest speed rating, an absurd catch and jumping rating and can be incredibly hard to pull down after the catch.
While the Dolphins may have some trouble finding him the ball in Madden, once he has it he is the game’s most unstoppable player no doubt in mind and clearly solidified himself in Madden 23 as one of the most broken video game athletes of 2022.
9. Kevin De Bruyne, FIFA 23
Those who follow footy know that KDB is one of the least flashy, fast and exciting athletes in professional sports, yet he might be the most effective. Playing for Manchester City, De Bruyne acts as an ultimate distributor to his plethora of attacking threats surrounding him.
The central midfielder has game-breaking passing ability, some of the world’s deadliest finishers in front of him, and a midfield crew of world-class passers, dribblers and back-trackers. De Bruyne himself is not only the best passer in the world, he is also a fantastic finisher and has one of the highest motors in the game.
8. Corbin Burnes, MLB The Show 22
Roy Halladay-like ball manipulation coupled with a killer fastball has brought Corbin Burnes into the conversation. The 99-overall rated right-handed pitcher is great in real life, don’t get me wrong. But in The Show it’s a completely different story, this man is not hittable. It won’t take a Show vet long to realize why after you see his arsenal, which features a 95 MPH cutter, 82 MPH curve, 90 MPH changeup, 88 MPH slider, 96 MPH sinker and a rarely featured 96 mph fourseam fastball.
His pitch speeds and combinations make it impossible to guess pitch movements and catch up to his heat late in the count, leaving virtual hitters left for dead and probably hoping for a fastball that catches too much of the plate. If you’re going into a series against Milwaukee in the Show 23, you better pray you don’t have a run in with this guy because you can kiss your sweep goodbye.
7. Aaron Donald, Madden 23
If you’re playing career mode as a quarterback, especially in the NFC West, I’m sure you’ve been sacked by Aaron Donald at some point. This man is unstoppable in real life, sure, but the version of Aaron Donald that blows through offensive lines in the newest edition of Madden is just rude to professional linemen everywhere.
Donald is completely undersized for his position, which in reality can be a massive factor in how a lineman performs in their matchup any given week. In Madden, it’s impossible to tell Aaron Donald is undersized, because he is so ridiculously fast for his size that it literally doesn’t matter anyway. Madden coders have made Aaron Donald so athletic this year, he has the capacity to disrupt every single defensive play given the proper matchup.
6. Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA 2K23
Giannis is a 6’11 point guard in 2K, and in real life. So you can probably see why he is being mentioned despite his subpar shooting ability. Giannis’ inability to shoot the basketball from outside in real-life severely hinders his ability to find clear driving lanes. If only that was the case in 2K. In 2K, yes you can sag off of Giannis and force him to take open looks, but in the game he doesn’t have to. He can still force a switch and get to the rim with blinding speed and guard-like handles.
Giannis is a certified bucket, and when he’s cold you can fall back on the fact that he is arguably the game’s best playmaker. His ability to see over the defence makes a massive impact when moving the ball back out to the perimeter off of drive-and-kicks. The Bucks get free looks from deep all day in 2K as a result of Giannis drawing double and even triple teams when attacking the rack, leaving 2, 3 or even 4 shooters wide open on most possessions.
5. Kylian Mbappé, FIFA 23
If it wasn’t for FIFA nerfing pace in FIFA 23, Kylian Mbappé would have done to FIFA what Stephen Curry did to 2K. That doesn’t stop Mbappé from being unplayable in FIFA 23. Lodged into club side PSG’s 4-3-3 at the top, right in between the best right-winger of all time Lionel Messi and one of the best left-wingers of all time Neymar Jr., Mbappé is destined to see copious amounts of chances in a 5 minute a half FIFA match.
Mbappé combines his world-class pace and dribbling abilities that have the ball stuck to his foot in-game, with his deadly finishing to be easily the most frustrating player to stop in FIFA 23 with a 91 rating.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Madden 23
If you’re a pass-first Offensive Coordinator playing Madden 23, you’re going to adore using Patrick Mahomes in the pocket. The Chiefs combination of threats down field, sustainable offensive line, Andy Reid’s playbook and Patrick Mahomes’ everything makes them virtually impossible to stop.
Mahomes is not only a terrific pocket passer, he is the game’s most prolific scrambler, and his ability to throw under pressure and on the run is not only second to none, it’s about as good as his passing from the pocket. His accuracy and arm power are almost maxed out, his toughness, and injury likelihood are almost maxed out.
Hell, if Mahomes is having an off day, just keep dumping the ball off to Travis Kelce, he will not drop a pass, unless you’re… well, not good.
3. Kevin Durant, NBA 2K23
A name that many, and I mean MANY, would put on top of this list. To the experienced 2K veteran, Kevin Durant is that guy. KD’s combination of size, skill and basketball IQ have made him arguably the most dominant two-way presence in any sports video game this decade.
At 6’11 Kevin Durant is usually started at the 4 in 2K, where he can switch and rotate on D while dominating an oversized defender on the perimeter, forcing switches on pick-and-rolls and nailing contested jumpers from all over the court against mismatched and confused defences. Not to mention Durant’s in-game handling and finishing ability around the rim, making it more than simple to leave your defender in the dust and take flight towards an unsuspecting rim protector, who really never stood a chance.
2. Connor McDavid, NHL 23
Generational talent Connor McDavid took the hockey world by storm after being selected with the 1st overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. The left-handed shooting Centre for the Edmonton Oilers has spent the last few years comfortably on top of Chell’s rating rankings.
At a 95 overall for the second year in a row McDavid’s offensive agility, hand-eye coordination, speed, shooting and passing clearly separate him from the rest of the players in the game. There is only 1 player in the game with a 98 rated attribute, it’s McDavid and spoiler alert, he has 5.
If you’re an avid Cheller, you already know if McDavid’s line is on the ice he’s virtually impossible to stop, and just when you thought you had him stopped, there’s Leon Draisatl.
1. Stephen Curry, NBA 2K23
I mean what else is new, Stephen Curry is so good at shooting that he changed the NBA into 2K before anyone even realized what hit them. After Curry’s phenomenal 2014-15 season where he drained a then NBA record 286 triples, NBA 2K15 rewarded him with an almost broken character, rated 89 overall who could snipe from absolutely anywhere within half court.
Fast forward 12 months, Steph Curry just annihilated his own shooting record by hitting 402 three pointers and won the NBA’s MVP award while averaging 30.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 5.4 RPG and making the 50-40-90 club for the first time in his career, something only 9 others have managed in the NBA, 1 in the G-League (Quinn Cook) and 1 in the WNBA (Elena Delle Donne).
As a result, the era of broken Stephen Curry’s commenced. 2K had no choice but to bolster his rating to a 93, and from then on it has climbed along with his body of work to where we are today, 96 overall 2K23 Broken Curry, I mean Stephen Curry. Rounding out his absurdly unfair 99 3-point shooting rating with a now lethal 97 mid range, 97 close shot, 96 rated layup, 98 stamina, 97 pass IQ, 97 ball handle and 93 pass accuracy. He is the biggest problem for any modern video game opponent and has been for almost a decade, there is no doubt.
(Photo credit: 2K Games)