Unexpectedly, the brightest row was known to represents the lowest lying Te atoms in the STM image of NbTe2. Projected density of states and crystal orbital overlap population show that the 5pz orbital of the lowest lying Te(2) atom doe s not interact with the 4d orbital of Nb strongly so that the 5pz band remains in the vicinity of the Fermi energy. Consequently the lowest lying Te(2) atoms contribute higher electron density near the Fermi energy which in turn exhibits brightest image in the STM experiments.