Every sport has its legends. The athletes that win the championships become cultural icons, and – in the case of the very best – transcend the sport entirely. Athletes like Michael Jordan are as well-known across the world by non-basketball fans for their shoes, apparel, and the Netflix docuseries they feature in. Not everything in sports superstardom comes from winning the most games.
The Importance of the NBA 2K Cover
One of the biggest cultural offshoots of the NBA is the NBA 2K series of games. Beginning in 1999, this increasingly realistic sports simulation game allowed fans to play as their heroes and now it is one of the very best mobile basketball games on the market. Fans can now back their favorite team by betting on their mobile devices before playing as them against friends and family.
The NBA 2K series has become as synonymous with basketball gaming as FIFA did with soccer. There have been countless basketball games in the past but the annual release of the 2K title is highly anticipated – and the biggest news is not what new features the game includes, but which NBA star is on the cover. Making the cover of the NBA 2K game is arguably now as important than winning an MVP award.
Cover Stars
For the first five years of NBA 2K, there was just one athlete who graced the cover. Allen Iverson, famous for his time with the Philadelphia 76ers and his immense talent, was the star that Sega decided would appeal to the largest fan base. He never actually won a championship but did pick up an NBA MVP award in 2001.
From NBA 2K5 onwards, the cover star athlete changed almost every year. The developers recognized that they needed to bring something new to the cover and that it was something that the fans and gamers were talking about. The game might have been launched too late for Michael Jordan but Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, and a whole host of other world-famous stars have become the chosen ones in the years since.
The Face of the Game
The decision about who makes the cover of the NBA 2K series is an important one, as it effectively reflects – or even decides – who is the face of the game at the moment in time. Obviously, with the game being released in September each year, the developers need to make sure that the athlete is not one that has just had a once-in-a-lifetime season.
The NBA, as a league, has been masterful in marketing its brand across the world and now people all across the globe have their favorite teams and players. The top athletes are more well-known outside of the US than those from the NFL and only the biggest soccer stars really compete.
Brand Recognition
This brand recognition of the players and teams of the NBA is obviously very important to the league. Unlike the other major professional sports in the US, a basketball team only has a small number of players and new fans are easily able to become accustomed to the stars thanks to their high profile.
Obviously, there can only ever be one cover star each year (not counting the special edition titles) but it does seem as though the NBA 2K game does enough to introduce people to the league on a global basis. That is why the choice of who makes it to the cover of the game each year is such a big deal.
Transcending the Sport
It is not just the NBA as a league – and a business – that benefits from this marketing of the 2K series. The top sports athletes have always been looked up to by the fans and commercial opportunities have been explored to make lots of money for the stars themselves, as well as everyone connected.
When it comes to basketball, the NBA is the biggest league in the world and something like the rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1980s effectively kept the league going. Michael Jordan became a cultural icon in the 1990s and now the likes of LeBron and Steph Curry are continuing that history. The NBA 2K game cover is perhaps even more important than some of the commercial opportunities of the past because it sells the NBA to millions of people who may not even have been sports fans previously.
NBA MVPs Not Always the Fan’s Favorite
A quick glance at the list of cover stars over the last 25 years proves it is not as important for an athlete to be a champion for the game to be successful. There are crossovers, of course. Last year Jayson Tatum was the cover star and his Boston Celtics did go on to win the championship. However, a few years earlier, Giannis Antetokounmpo was the Finals MVP, while Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson graced the cover of the game.
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the next cover athlete, for the 2K26 title coming out in September. Bronny James – the son of NBA legend LeBron – has been mooted, as has the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That just shows you how the developers think about the marketing power of the game. James would keep the biggest name in the sport alive, while the Thunder might well be the champions by the time the title is released.
Obviously, the NBA MVP, for the best player in the regular season, and the Finals MVP, that usually goes to someone on the winning team, is a hugely prestigious award. But for the profile of the league, the sport, and the individuals themselves, the third big accolade every season now is definitely the announcement of the 2K cover athlete.
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Being featured on the NBA 2K cover is a career-defining moment for players, much like winning an MVP award, as I recall discussing with fellow gamers on Dreamy Room, where we often debated the impact of such honors on athletes’ legacies.
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