NBA 2K24: Kobe Bryant confirmed as cover athlete for latest release of hugely popular video game
Late NBA legend Bryant adorns the cover of the game for the fourth time in its history; NBA 2K24 developers said they wish to “commemorate his legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball”
NBA Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant will serve as the cover athlete for two editions of the NBA 2K24 video game.
Bryant will grace the cover of “NBA 2K24: Kobe Bryant Edition” and “NBA 2K24: Black Mamba Edition”.
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Pre-orders began on Friday ahead of the September release on multiple consoles of the popular game.
Bryant has been a cover athlete for the game on three previous occasions: NBA 2K10, NBA 2K17 (Legend Edition) and NBA 2K21 (Mamba Forever Edition). Throughout the years, various NBA stars and legends have graced the cover and, since 2022, WNBA stars have been on various editions as well.
“As we celebrate 25 years of NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant, we commemorate his legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball,” Greg Thomas, president at Visual Concepts, the game’s developer, said in a statement via ESPN. “While we mark the history of the franchise, NBA 2K24 also looks ahead to the future to bring an innovative leap in technology and the introduction of community-requested features like crossplay.”
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New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu will serve as the cover athlete for the WNBA edition of NBA 2K24.
This will be the fourth time Bryant has been on the game’s cover, including the 2K21 version when a Mamba Forever edition was released a few month months after he, his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a January 2020 helicopter crash in California.
Bryant won five NBA championships in 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring in 2016. He was a two-time Finals MVP, the 2007-08 league MVP and made 18 All-Star Game appearances. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the 2020 class.
