Kobe Bryant, Zion Williamson and Damian Lillard Are the 'NBA 2K21' Cover Athletes

2K has officially unveiled the complete roster of cover athletes for NBA 2K21: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson and NBA legend Kobe Bryant for the Mamba Forever Edition.

Lillard, the first-ever Trail Blazer to receive this honor, is a five-time NBA All-Star and Rookie of the Year and will grace the cover of the current generation version for the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch consoles. The next-generation version for the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, on the other hand, will feature the 2019 1st overall pick and consensus 2019 National College Player of the Year, Williamson.

The future is here 💪 @ZionWilliamson is our Cover Athlete for Next Gen #NBA2K21

Pre-orders begin July 2nd pic.twitter.com/HCbHEOZUfL

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K) July 1, 2020

Finally, the late and great Kobe Bryant will be the face of two special Mamba Forever Edition covers that celebrate his “incredible lifelong pursuit of victory and legacy.” Each cover features one of his two jersey numbers and covers the span of his phenomenal; the current generation cover is shot by Andrew Bernstein in 2001 and shows the Lakers star’s #8 jersey as he goes for a right-handed dunk, while the next-generation cover highlights his #24 jersey during his final, 60-point game against the Utah Jazz in April 2016.

NBA 2K21 boasts of extensive improvements for its best-in-class graphics and gameplay, competitive and community online features, and various game modes. The game publishers are also promising initiatives to connect the current generation and next-generation versions, including a MyTEAM Cross-Progression and a Shared VC wallet for the same console generation (PS4 to PS5, Xbox One to Xbox Series X) that will allow players to carry over all their Points, Tokens and cards to the upgraded console.

“NBA 2K21 is a monumental leap forward for the franchise,” stated Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts. “We’re combining all of our experience and development expertise to craft the best game possible and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, we are building the game from the ground up to take full advantage of next-gen power and technology.”

Being on the cover of @nba2k is a dream come true. I've been playing 2K since the Dreamcast days! Hyped to be the #NBA2K21 Current Gen Cover Athlete. #YKWTII #DameTime ⌚ 🎮 pic.twitter.com/d1bPKTm0je

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) June 30, 2020

“Each of our cover athletes represents different eras of the game of basketball – Damian Lillard dominates the court today, Zion Williamson is a standard-bearer for the next generation of NBA superstar and what more could be said about Kobe?,” added Alfie Brody, Vice President of Global Marketing at NBA 2K. “Three athletes representing the current, future, and storied history of the game. Today’s exciting announcement is just the first of many for NBA 2K21; it’s going to be a huge year for basketball fans and NBA 2K gamers.”

NBA 2K21 will release September 4 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC and Google Stadia, and will also be available for the PS5 and Xbox Series X as a launch title this holiday. Pre-orders are available now on the official NBA 2K site, with the current generation edition priced at $59.99 USD for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC and Google Stadia, the next-generation edition at $69.99 USD for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The Mamba Forever Edition for $99.99 USD will provide a copy of the standard edition game within the same console family at no additional costs.

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