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The last time Derrick Rose was on an NBA 2K cover, he had to share it.
2K announced Wednesday that Rose fronts the Ultra Edition of NBA 2K27, joining Victor Wembanyama on the Standard Edition and Caitlin Clark on the Deluxe.
It is his second 2K cover and his first alone. 14 years and 14 games ago, on NBA 2K13, he was one of three young stars crowded into the same frame alongside Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, all of them mid-dunk, all of them 23 years old.
Rose is 37 now, two years retired, and the only one of that trio to get a cover to himself since.
"It's crazy looking back at being on the NBA 2K13 cover" and now having his own edition, Rose says in the announcement, before crediting the coaches and teammates who got him there. He framed the cover as a chance to tell younger players that the hours pay off.
Three Covers, Three No. 1 Picks
The selection for this year's cover athletes was calculated. Wembanyama, Clark, and Rose were each taken first overall in their respective drafts, and each won Rookie of the Year. These three athletes have all been dominant since their rookie years.
Clark is the first WNBA player to get her own global premium NBA 2K cover. Wembanyama is the first Spurs player to appear on the cover since the series launched in 1999, and the first center since Shaquille O'Neal fronted the 2K18 Legend Edition.
This also breaks the past three years' streak of featuring a player that has just won an NBA Championship that year, as Wemby follows NBA champions Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum from NBA 2K26 and NBA 2K25, respectively.
Zak Armitage, senior vice president and general manager of NBA 2K, says that the three come from different worlds but share the same obsession. Rose comes from the past, while Wembanyama and Clark are contemporaries but operate in different leagues. Their passion for the game has earned them accolades in their careers, the latest of which being their selection as this year's cover athletes.
The Cover Caps A Long Year For Rose In Chicago
Landing on the NBA 2K27 cover art caps off a year-long celebration of Derrick Rose's career.
The Bulls retired his No. 1 jersey in January, raising it to the United Center rafters in a postgame ceremony after a win over the Celtics. He became the fifth player in franchise history to get one, joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan, and Bob Love, and the first Bull to be honored that way in more than 20 years, since Pippen in 2005.
Building on what's already mentioned earlier in this article, Rose was the No. 1 pick out of Chicago in 2008, won Rookie of the Year, and then became the youngest MVP in league history at 22, dragging a 62-win Bulls team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Although his career was plagued with injuries that prevented him from lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy, fans will always remember his explosiveness on the court, brought about by his finesse and athleticism.
Apart from the Bulls, he also played for New York, Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit, and Memphis before retiring ahead of the 2024-25 season.
NBA 2K27 Ultra Edition Price and Release Date
Derrick Rose appears in the most premium, Ultra Edition version of NBA 2K27.
NBA 2K27launches September 4 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC via Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2. The Standard Edition with Wembanyama runs $69.99. Clark's Deluxe Edition is $99.99. The Rose Ultra Edition is $149.99, with pre-orders now open.
Deluxe and Ultra buyers get early access starting August 28, a week ahead of the wide release. The Ultra Edition also bundles the Season 1 Pro Pass and a Summer Season Pass bundle covering Seasons 7 through 9, which do not arrive until summer 2027.
A first look at gameplay is coming next Tuesday.
