Based on player ratings in NBA 2K25, the New Orleans Pelicans have one of the stronger cores in the league. They had five players ranked inside the top 100, with Zion Williamson receiving the highest overall rating on the team.

One of the players who received one of those lofty marks is Herbert Jones.

A second-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft, he immediately cemented himself as a key part of the team’s rotation.

He made 69 starts as a rookie and hasn’t looked back. A defensive star, Jones has quietly been improving on the offensive side of the ball as well.

During the 2023-24 campaign, he averaged a career-high 11 points per game. A contributing factor to breaking double-digits for the first time in his career was the improvement on his 3-point shooting.

Jones knocked down 41.8 percent of his 3.6 attempts per game. Not only did he attempt the most 3-pointers in his career, it was by far his most efficient season. He was 33.7 percent as a rookie and 33.5 percent as a sophomore.

His 86.7 percent from the foul line and 2.6 assists per game also were career highs.

Alas, the people who give out the player ratings for NBA 2K haven’t shown the Alabama product the kind of respect he deserves. As the case is oftentimes, his defensive prowess isn’t reflected enough in his overall.

That is why Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report has highlighted his 82 overall rating as one of the most insulting ones in the release of this year’s game.

“Unscreenable, long, disruptive, stronger than you think and gifted with that rare ability to mirror his matchup’s movements as if he’s inside the player’s head, the New Orleans Pelicans stopper contributes like a legitimate star. Case in point: Zion Williamson was the only Pelicans player to top Jones in Estimated Wins last season, and opponents shot just 44.0 percent when Jones was the primary defender, just one percentage point short of NBA leader Draymond Green (among those who defended at least 11.0 shots per game),” he wrote.

If Jones can put together another strong season as a 3-point shooter, he should start getting the respect in the virtual world that he has garnered in the real world.

Updates are made throughout the NBA season to player’s ratings, so expect to see his rating improve as the year moves along if he can successfully build off of what he did last campaign.