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Starting in the 1999-00 season, NBA 2K became a staple of basketball gaming, eventually becoming the most popular game for NBA aficionados.
An important aspect of NBA 2K and something that's become quite the prestigious honor is finding out which player will be the game's cover athlete every year.
For the first five editions of the game, from the original NBA 2K through ESPN NBA Basketball (2K4), the cover athlete was Allen Iverson. Then came Ben Wallace, then Shaquille O'Neal, and then multiple other superstars after them.
Kobe Bryant aka Black Mamba leads the way so far with six different covers (2K10, 2K17, and two editions for 2K21 and 2K24), followed by Iverson (2K, 2K1, 2K2, 2K3 and 2K4) and Michael Jordan (2K11, 2K12, 2K16 and two 2K23 editions).
Below is a gallery of every NBA 2K cover in the game's history.
2K27 Standard Edition
Victor Wembanyama
2K27 Deluxe Edition
Caitlin Clark
2K27 Ultra Edition
Derrick Rose
2K26 Standard Edition
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2K26 Superstar Edition
Carmelo Anthony
2K26 WNBA Edition
Angel Reese
2K26 Leave No Doubt Edition
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Carmelo Anthony and Angel Reese
2K25 Standard Edition
Jayson Tatum
2K25 All-Star Edition
Jayson Tatum and A'ja Wilson
2K25 Hall Of Fame Edition
Vince Carter
2K25 WNBA Edition
A'ja Wilson
2K24 Kobe Bryant Edition
Kobe Bryant
2K24 Black Mamba Edition
Kobe Bryant
2K24 25th Anniversary Edition
2K24 WNBA Edition
Sabrina Ionescu
2K23 Standard Edition
Devin Booker
2K23 Digital Deluxe Edition
Devin Booker
2K23 Michael Jordan Edition
Michael Jordan
2K23 Championship Edition
Michael Jordan
2K23 WNBA Edition
Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird
2K23 Dreamer Edition
J. Cole
2K22 Standard Edition
Luka Doncic
2K22 NBA 75th Anniversary Edition
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant
2K22 Cross-Gen Digital Bundle
Luka Doncic
2K22 WNBA 25th Anniversary Special Edition
Candace Parker
2K21 Standard Edition
Damian Lillard
2K21 Mamba Forever Edition
Kobe Bryant
2K21 Mamba Forever Edition variant
Kobe Bryant
2K21 Next Gen Edition
Zion Williamson
2K20
Anthony Davis
2K20 Legend Edition
Dwyane Wade
2K19
Giannis Antetokounmpo
2K19 20th Anniversary Edition
LeBron James
2K19 Australia and New Zealand Edition
Ben Simmons
2K18
Kyrie Irving
2K18 Early Tip-Off Edition
Kyrie Irving
2K18 Legend Edition Gold
Shaquille O'Neal
2K18 Legend Edition
Shaquille O'Neal
2K18 Canada Edition
DeMar DeRozan
2K17
Paul George
2K17 Legend Edition
Kobe Bryant
2K17 Spain Edition
Pau Gasol
2K17 Italy Edition
Danilo Gallinari
2K16 Stephen Curry Cover
Stephen Curry
2K16 Anthony Davis Cover
Anthony Davis
2K16 James Harden Cover
James Harden
2K16 Special Edition
Michael Jordan
2K16 France Edition
Tony Parker
2K16 Germany Edition
Dennis Schroeder
2K16 Spain Edition
Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol
2K15
Kevin Durant
2K14
LeBron James
2K13
Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose
2K12 Michael Jordan Cover
Michael Jordan
2K12 Magic Johnson Cover
Magic Johnson
2K12 Larry Bird Cover
Larry Bird
2K11
Michael Jordan
2K10
Kobe Bryant
2K9
Kevin Garnett
2K8
Chris Paul
2K7
Shaquille O'Neal
2K6
Shaquille O'Neal
ESPN NBA 2K5
Ben Wallace
ESPN NBA Basketball (2K4)
Allen Iverson
2K3
Allen Iverson
2K2
Allen Iverson
2K1
Allen Iverson
2K
Allen Iverson
List
NBA 2K: The players with the most covers ever
Kobe Bryant NBA 2K ratings through the years
Near perfect ratings in NBA 2K history
LeBron James NBA 2K ratings through the years
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA 2K covers through the years
