The NBA 2K franchise has dominated the gaming space in terms of professional basketball simulation experiences, with NBA Live all but disappearing in the space. Over the last couple of years, fans have become displeased with the obvious drop in quality, regardless of who graces the cover of the game.
The franchise is notorious for having a different cover athlete for each version of the game, but for this article, we will just be focusing on the standard cover athlete that the majority of players will see on store shelves or digital marketplaces.
10 Derrick Rose/Kevin Durant/Blake Griffin (NBA 2K13)
Following a year in which NBA 2K featured three different NBA legends on the same cover, the series did the same for NBA 2K13. The three cover athletes for the game were Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Blake Griffin of the L.A. Clippers.
These days Derrick Rose is coming off of a successful stint with the New York Knicks, Kevin Durant is trying to lead a Brooklyn Nets super team to an NBA title, and Blake Griffin is aiding Durant in Brooklyn as a member of the Nets.
9 LeBron James (NBA 2K14)
Despite a long and consistent career of NBA excellence, LeBron James has only graced the cover of NBA 2K once. This came in 2013 for the release of NBA 2K14 when James was still a member of the Miami Heat. It followed a 2012-13 campaign that saw James shoot a career-best 40% from 3-point range and win a 2nd consecutive NBA title.
As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, James is currently looking to bring his 2nd title to Los Angeles with the team's recent acquisition of star point guard Russell Westbrook.
8 Kevin Durant (NBA 2K15)
It's a shame that Kevin Durant's greatness will always be questioned due to him joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016. After appearing as an optional cover athlete for NBA 2K13, Durant was able to solely grace the cover in 2014 for NBA 2K15. This was following a season in which he averaged an astounding 32 points per game.
Durant is currently a member of the Brooklyn Nets and is trying to lead a super team comprised of guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving to an NBA title in the coming seasons.
7 Steph Curry/James Harden/Anthony Davis (NBA 2K16)
For the first time since NBA 2K13, the franchise decided to give people three options when it came to the cover of NBA 2K16. The choices ended up being superstar point guard Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, scoring guard of the Houston Rockets James Harden, and stud big man for the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis.
All three stars are now on their way to Hall of Fame careers, with Curry and Harden already cementing their place in the record books and Davis looking to build on a strong resume.
6 Paul George (NBA 2K17)
The last two NBA seasons haven't been kind to Paul George, as the Los Angeles Clippers' star wingman has drawn the ire of the internet. With a subpar 2020 postseason, George adopted the nickname Pandemic P, and despite being consistent during the 2021 postseason, fans were just as harsh.
People forget that during his time in Indiana as a Pacer he molded himself into a superstar in the NBA and was rewarded with the cover of NBA 2K17 in 2016.
5 Kyrie Irving (NBA 2K18)
Kyrie Irving may be one of the NBA's most polarizing players, but it's hard to deny how skilled he is on the court. From his ball-handling to scoring ability it's hard to find a weakness to his game, outside of his riddled injury history. Following his incredible shot that helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Championship, he had a season where he averaged 25 points a game.
In 2017 the people over at 2K gave Irving the cover of NBA 2K18. The same offseason in which he requested a trade and ended up on the Boston Celtics for a brief period.
4 Giannis Antetokounmpo (NBA 2K19)
It may have taken until 2021 for Giannis Antetokounmpo to win an NBA title, but he didn't have to wait as long to grace the cover of NBA 2K. As the cover athlete for NBA 2K19, Antetokounmpo was able to show NBA fans outside of Milwaukee just what he was capable of.
He's coming off of arguably the greatest NBA Finals performance of all time and at just 26-years-old is not stopping anytime soon. Don't be surprised if Antetokounmpo is back on the cover before his career comes to an end in the next decade or so.
3 Anthony Davis (NBA 2K20)
These days Anthony Davis is known as a superstar big man for the Los Angeles Lakers, but for eight seasons he made himself a household name playing in New Orleans. Like Kevin Durant, Davis first landed on the cover as an optional choice, but a few years later was gifted his cover. His time came in 2019 as NBA 2K20 was released worldwide on all major gaming platforms.
The Chicago native has a lot of basketball left in him, but it's unclear if "The Brow" will ever be on another cover with so many young emerging superstars in the NBA.
2 Damian Lillard/Zion Williamson (NBA 2K21)
In 2020, gamers saw the release of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X next-generation gaming consoles. Because of this, NBA 2K saw separate editions released for each generation, respectively.
Damian Lillard, superstar point guard of the Portland Trailblazers was named the cover athlete for the PS4 and Xbox One version of NBA 2K21. Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans landed the cover of the next-gen version of the game, which marketed itself as the better experience, pointing at performance and graphical fidelity as the evidence.
1 Luka Doncic (NBA 2K22)
It was recently revealed that Luka Doncic would be the cover athlete of NBA 2K22, as the young superstar is emerging as a face of the NBA. Doncic hails from Slovenia, and in his short time with the Dallas Mavericks has shown the world what he means to the game of basketball.
It wouldn't be surprising if Doncic ends up gracing the cover once again at some point in the future. The Mavericks are hoping to pair him with another superstar in hopes of bringing another title to Dallas.