NBA legend Kobe Bryant will grace the cover of NBA 2K24, 2K Games announced on Thursday. Bryant will be featured on two separate editions of the game, the Kobe Bryant Edition and the Black Mamba Edition.
The Kobe Bryant Edition will feature the Lakers legend leaping through the air in his No. 8 jersey. The Black Mamba Edition will feature Bryant in his No. 24 uniform. Both versions of the game will be available for purchase later this year.
8️⃣ ♾️2️⃣4️⃣
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 6, 2023
Sharing the Mamba Mentality with the next generation. Introducing our #NBA2K24 cover athlete, Kobe Bryant.
💛 Kobe Bryant Edition
🐍 Black Mamba Edition
Pre-order your copy tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/afcqMh5qr8
This is the fourth time Bryant has been on the cover of the game, including when he was featured on the cover of NBA 2K21, which was released just months after his death in January 2020. Bryant was also the cover athlete for NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K10.
Greg Thomas, the president of Visual Concepts, which developed the game, said in a statement that the decision was made to honor Bryant's "impact" on the game of basketball.
"As we celebrate 25 years of NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant, we commemorate his legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball," Thomas said in a statement to ESPN. "While we mark the history of the franchise, NBA 2K24 also looks ahead to the future to bring an innovative leap in technology and the introduction of community-requested features like crossplay."
Bryant spent two decades in the NBA, and he led the Lakers to five NBA titles while winning an MVP award and a pair of NBA Finals MVP trophies. Throughout his career, Bryant averaged 25.0 points per game, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
