Ratings measure how fast you solve. Points and medals are the competition; ratings are the skill behind them.
Every rating runs from 50 to 99, and 75 is average. Each solve is scored against that day's difficulty, since some puzzles are simply harder. Solving twice as fast as the norm is worth +20, and half as fast is −20. OVR is the average of your six game ratings. With only a few solves in a game, its rating stays closer to 75 until there is more to go on.
Only your time counts, not where you placed. Forfeits don't count against your rating, but they still cost you in the standings.
Newer solves count more. A solve from two weeks ago counts half as much as today's, and one from a month ago about a quarter.
The six basketball categories are blends of the games:
These come from your strongest categories.
The best five are placed at PG, SG, SF, PF and C by whose category mix fits each spot best. Overall rating still weighs in, so a stronger player isn't benched for a tidier fit. Everyone else goes to the bench.
The NBA 2K player whose rating profile has the most similar shape to yours, chosen from players within 5 OVR of you. The % is how closely the styles match.
A team's OVR is the average of its members' OVRs.