NBA 2K27 cover athletes ranked by legend status

Victor Wembanyama, Caitlin Clark and Derrick Rose are the cover athletes on NBA 2K27. Wembanyama, fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals, got the main cover while Clark, arguably the face of the WNBA, is featured on the “DELUXE EDITION.”

The biggest surprise is Rose who covers the “ULTRA EDITION.” This is a throwback to a different era for the NBA. The summer before Rose won MVP the entire league was waiting for LeBron James to make his free agency decision.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a completely different era, but it has been more than a decade since Rose, a year removed from winning MVP, suffered a devastating knee injury that changed the entire trajectory of his career. Concidentally, that was when he was last on the cover. In 2012 Rose shared the cover of NBA 2K13 with Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin. Rose had torn his ACL during the ’12 playoffs and ended up sitting out the entire ’12-’13 season.

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Rose ended up playing another decade and ended up playing for six teams, but there was a time, right before 2K13 came out, that he was one of the biggest stars in the sport. And that’s true for just about everyone who has ever graced the cover of an NBA 2K game.

Since its basically only current and future Hall of Famers who have 2K covers, it would be unfair to rank them 1-27. So, I’ve categorized and sorted them based on why they are on the cover.

NBA 2K Mount Rushmore(s)

All due respect to some players who have won multiple titles and MVP awards, these are the guys who define the sport.

Michael Jordan (2K11 and 2K12), Larry Bird (2K12), Magic Johnson (2K12), LeBron James (2K14), Stephen Curry (2K16), Shaquille O’Neal (2K6 and 2K7) and Kobe Bryant (2K10, 2K24 and 2K24 Black Mamba Edition)

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NBA 2K’s George Washington

Sep 09, 2016; Springfield, MA, USA; Allen Iverson speaks at the Springfield Symphony Hall during the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Allen Iverson (NBA 2K, NBA 2K1, NBA 2K2, NBA 2K3, ESPN NBA Basketball 2K4) was so cool that he was on the cover of the first five covers of the NBA 2K series. He never won a title, but he’s one of the best, most influential small players ever. He won an MVP. He led the league in scoring four times.

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WNBA 2K

Another big step in the explosion of women’s sports was the W’s inclusion in the 2K game which started in the 2019 version of the game. Two years later Candace Parker was on the cover.

Candace Parker (2K22), Diana Taurasi (2K23), Sue Bird (2K23) Sabrina Ionescu (2K24) A’Ja Wilson (2K25, 2K25 All-Star Edition), Angel Reese (Leave No Doubt Edition), Caitlin Clark (2K27 Deluxe)

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NBA 2K Ben Wallace(s)

After a slow start to his career, he ended up being a key player and All-NBA performer on some very good teams. Then just a few years later you kind of forgot about just how big of an impact he made as he transitioned into a veteran role player. If you weren’t there you might not believe it, but they totally deserved those covers.

Ben Wallace (ESPN NBA Basketball 2K4), Paul George (2K17)

NBA 2K future legends

These are the players you’ll someday tell your grandchildren about before queueing up AI-generated NBA Top Shot holograms that you’re allowed to rent from your local prediction supermarket.

Kevin Durant (2K13 and 2K18 Nike Connect), Stephen Curry (2K16), Kevin Garnett (2K9), Chris Paul (2K8), James Harden (2K16), Dirk Nowitzki (2K22 75th Anniversary Edition)

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NBA 2K coolest cover athletes

These guys were awesome. Some of them still are. That’s why they get a cover.

Derrick Rose (2K13, 2K27 ), Blake Griffin (2K13), Kyrie Irving (2K18), Zion Williamson (2K21), Devin Booker (2K23), Damian Lillard (2K21) Vince Carter (2K25 Hall of Fame Edition)

NBA 2K overseas

It’s kind of funny that DeMar DeRozan was on the cover in Canada and then got traded and then got traded and then they won a title. Now if the did a Canadian edition they’d use SGA, but he actually got on the cover of the regular edition so it would probably be Kyle Lowry. Unless the Kawhi trade actually happens.

Pau Gasol (2K16 and 2K17 Spain), Marc Gasol (2K16 Spain), Dennis Schroder (2K16 Germany), Tony Parker (2K16 France), Danilo Gallinar (2K17 Italy), DeMar DeRozan (2K18 Canada), Ben Simmons 2K19 Australian and New Zealand), Rui Hachimura (2K22 Japan)

NBA 2K superstars

These players are going to end up in the Hall of Fame. They’re the best players in the world right now. Someday they might be on a special edition of the game.

Victor Wembanyama (2K27), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2K26), Jayson Tatum (2K24), Luka Doncic (2K22)

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