The Oklahoma City Thunder had one of the most dominant seasons the NBA has ever seen. They had a historic 68-14 regular-season record with the greatest point differential. Gilgeous-Alexander helped them cross the finish line in the playoffs with a Game 7 win in the 2025 NBA Finals.

NBA 2K26 will be released on Sept. 5, with pre-orders having begun on July 9 and early access attainable on Aug. 29. That said, the top-rated players were unveiled by NBA 2K's X handle on Thursday morning.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the reigning king of the NBA after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the championship as the NBA Finals MVP and 2024-25 league MVP, but he isn't the top player in NBA 2K26.