Creating a Roster from the ground up, I have questions?

This post if for Alby, Andrew, the many people who do sliders and those serious players who have played hundreds of games since the games release……….. All other input is welcome too
I am going to start to build a roster from the ground up for NBA Live 08, (It won’t be an NBA roster). I have done many rosters in the past at Operation Sports for Madden and College football, all being for the console though; with this being my first attempt at a full PC roster.

What I learned when creating those rosters were, that I would need some sort of statistical template or range to start off and work with; this is what I am asking for here? From those with NBA Live 08 experience.
I have done some work with a DBF editor and NBA Live 2005 before, so I am not a complete noob here. But the two games play completely different; so the ratings must be adjusted differently.

All newly created players ratings have a number 50 associated with each player attribute. Correct?
If you could answer the questions below, it would help me create that statistical template that I will use to create my roster from.

Any insight on why? …..A rating should or should not be that high or that low and an explanation is what I am looking for; as well as a definitive number range.

Give me your ranges for FGpct, FTpct, blocking, quickness, speed, offaware, Defaware. What you feel the highest and lowest ratings should be for the best and worst players at each position should be.
What player attribute is the most powerful one. Changing it would completely transform that player from an average player to superstar?
What ratings should remain at 50, and should not be touched?
What rating carries the most weight?


Thank you,

All newly created players ratings have a number 50 associated with each player attribute. Correct?
If you could answer the questions below, it would help me create that statistical template that I will use to create my roster from.

Any insight on why? …..A rating should or should not be that high or that low and an explanation is what I am looking for; as well as a definitive number range.

50 is the default rating for everything when you create a player because it's right in the middle of the scale; if you want to raise it really high or decrease it fairly low, it's certainly more convenient being halfway between the extremes. It also serves as a pretty good "average" rating for most things.

Give me your ranges for FGpct, FTpct, blocking, quickness, speed, offaware, Defaware. What you feel the highest and lowest ratings should be for the best and worst players at each position should be.

Field Goals: For anyone who's a decent jumpshooter, 50 or above. Players like Shaq are a noteworthy exception as their other attributes tend to balance things out so they're not putting up and hitting jumpers from 15 and whatnot. For players who aren't strong jumpshooters or scorers in general, you can go below 50. I don't usually go lower than 40.

Free Throws: Free Throw Percentage = Free Throw Rating. That's how I work it.

Blocking: 45-55 tends to be fair for players averaging around a block per game while playing 30+ minutes. Obviously you can adjust if they're playing less; a player who's only playing 12 minutes per game but blocking 1.1 shots per game can be rated up there with people averaging a couple of blocks in 30 minutes. I tend to run the full scale with this one. The best shot blockers are into the 90s, the players rarely blocking shots can go right down to 1.

Quickness and Speed: Unless a guard is unusually slow, I feel that at least 75 tends to be appropriate. Likewise, unless a big man is particularly athletic and quick footed, anything over 70 is pushing it, somewhere between 60-70 is usually ideal and you might even go as low as 40 for a lumbering centre (on average, some players you might go even lower).

Offensive Awareness: Most players who are decent scorers fall into the 55-80 range, the upper end being the players in double figures. Anyone who averages 20+ ppg is a candidate to at least be in the mid 80s right into the 90s. Of course you can scale this: 8 ppg in 18 mpg is quite efficient so you might want to consider giving them a rating aroun 70 or higher, depending on the player.

Defensive Awareness: You can usually go as low as 30 right up to 99. Note that when a player has a rating of 75, they're a candidate to qualify for defensive FSS abilities if their other ratings are in the right range too so once you hit 75 you're talking about a very competent defensive player. Defensive specialists can be right up there into the 90s.

What player attribute is the most powerful one. Changing it would completely transform that player from an average player to superstar?

No one attribute really. You really need to adjust a couple of ratings so that a player will at least take advantage of a particular skill.

What ratings should remain at 50, and should not be touched?

None absolutely need to remain at 50, though sometimes it may be appropriate.

What rating carries the most weight?

I'm pretty sure they're all weighted about the same, with the possible exception of Clutch which seems to be weighted lower.

Thanks, Andrew
This is going to be very helpful, very nice explanation and insight.

No worries. If you have any further questions I'll certainly try to help out.