All NBA 2K covers, in order and by year

A major career milestone for many of the world’s biggest and best pro athletes is appearing on the cover of a sports game, and the NBA 2K series has featured a long list of all-time basketball greats on its covers.

In the early days of the NBA 2K franchise, Sega kept going back to Phidelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson for cover honors, making him the lead representative of its games. That changed over time, with the franchise eventually featuring a variety of living legends and rising stars alike. With the NBA 2K series now pushing 30 years of games, it’s worth taking a look over the series’ history and going over all of its cover athletes, in order and by year.

All NBA 2K games covers, including international and special editions

The NBA 2K games have featured many of the most iconic basketball players in the history of the game on its covers. Alongside the top stars of the modern game, the franchise has paid homage to Hall of Fame players including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.

Here is every NBA 2K cover athlete in order by game and year:

Since 2011, 2K Sports has taken a varied approach to the athletes it features on its covers for the NBA 2K series.

This variance really began with NBA 2K12, which featured NBA legends Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. Each athlete was showcased independently, with players able to pick out whichever cover they preferred. NBA 2K13 also took a novel approach compared to past titles, but went in a different direction from 2K12 by featuring Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Durant together on its cover.

(Image Credit: 2K Games)

This concept returned once again in NBA 2K16 with Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, and James Harden all sharing the game’s cover. However, this year also saw 2K Sports start releasing multiple iterations of the annual game. The game’s “deluxe edition” was dubbed the “Michael Jordan Special Edition,” and its cover reflected this with MJ positioned front and center. Lakers legend Kobe Bryant would receive similar treatment on multiple occasions in the following years.

NBA 2K16 also saw developer 2K Games begin creating alternate covers for international markets. Competitor EA Games had done this with its own sports games prior to this. The Spanish release of the game featured Spanish stars and brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, while Germany’s Dennis Schroder and France’s Tony Parker received similar treatment in their home nations. Canada has also had unique covers featuring stars from the Toronto Raptors, the country’s lone NBA team.

(Image Credit: 2K Games)

Starting with NBA 2K22, each installment of the franchise has also featured at least one WNBA star. While NBA 2K22, 2K23, 2K24, and 2K25 each had dedicated WNBA Editions of the game, this changed with NBA 2K26. Though Chicago Sky star Angel Reese appears on the cover of the game’s “Leave No Doubt” special edition, she shares that honor with reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and former star Carmelo Anthony.

Featured image credit: 2K Games

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