The recent news ofNBA 2K25naming the upcoming cover athletes answered many questions from the community. Three noteworthy names were selected to continue the trend of an active NBA superstar, a retired NBA legend, and an active WNBA superstar all being honored.Jayson Tatum, A’ja Wilson, and Vince Carterwill be on the various covers for the upcoming release.
September is the expected month for the NBA to continue its yearly annual release ofNBA 2K. Many rumored names were not selected, and the decision-makers felt these three names were the right ones to market theNBA 2Karound. Each basketball star deserves a deeper look at what made them the chosen ones selected for theNBA 2K25cover spots.
Jayson Tatum Received The Most Important NBA 2K25 Cover
The active NBA star to get selected for the standard edition sold in most stores is the biggest cover spot. Jayson Tatum is the face that most basketball fans will see when purchasing a physical or digital copy of the traditional game.NBA 2K25will see Tatum on the traditional coverand the All-Star edition cover, sharing it with A’ja Wilson. Most top NBA players view this honor as an accomplishment to achieve as one of the best players in the league.
Tatum was selected for the obvious reasons of being among the greatest basketball stars playing today and for coming off his first NBA Championship victory. Voters named Jaylen Brown the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, but many people still view Tatum as the better player.NBA 2Kwanted to market someone who is considered the best player on the best team. Tatum winning a title and having a prominent position on Team USA’s men’s basketball team for the Olympics will keep him in the news.
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NBA All-NBA Selections
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Last season’s breakout stars, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander andAnthony Edwards, were rumoredNBA 2Kcover namesto make sense looking back at older cover athletes and the timing of elevating new stars. 2K decided to pick someone a bit more established, especially since Tatum has been among the best players in the league for about five consecutive seasons now.
The Boston Celtics also have one of the largestand most passionate fan bases in the entire NBA. Tatum presents a lot of perks forNBA 2K25to have him as the main name associated with representing the brand. The age of 26 sees Tatum still young enough to have many prime years left in his career.NBA 2Kselected him for his past accomplishments, ability to continue growing into the face of the league, and holding enough relevance to sell video games when fans see his face.
A’ja Wilson Gets NBA 2K25 Cover As WNBA’s Best Player
The WNBA continues to grow with records being broken and newfound fan interest making the current season hotter than the league has been in decades.Rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reeseget a lot of credit due to their legendary college careers adding excitement to the draft. Both women have had All-Star seasons to start their careers with a lot of fans following them, but neither is anywhere near the level of A’ja Wilson just yet.
The Las Vegas Aces are looking to win their third consecutive WNBA Championship, and Wilson has been the best player on the team for both runs. Incredible stats on paper and clear dominance via the eye test see most WNBA fans naming Wilson as the best overall player in the league. Wilson is the strong betting favorite to win the 2025 WNBA MVP Award, despite half of the season still to be determined.
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WNBA All-WNBA Selections
NBA 2K25decided to keep it simple by picking arguablythe best female basketball player in the worldand using her image to represent the WNBA. Wilson is currently playing the best basketball of her career and deserves to be celebrated in every way possible. The league’s growth should see the names that built the foundation of this momentum spotlighted.
Wilson has also been in the news for being the fourth active WNBA player to get her own signature shoe deal. Nike signed Wilson to release the A’One shoes to continue growing the WNBA brand. Sabrina Ionsecu’s shoe found such success with Nike that fans have excitement about Wilson and any other Nike WNBA releases coming.NBA 2K25witnessed Wilson trending positivelyin every aspect and made her a cover star for the WNBA edition and the All-Star edition with Tatum.
Vince Carter Benefited From Right Timing For NBA 2K25 Spot
NBA 2K25selected Vince Carter as the legend to get honored with the Hall of Fame edition cover spot.PreviousNBA 2Kgames saw legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Dwyane Wade spotlighted with their own cover spots post-retirement. Carter was selected for the timing of entering the Basketball Hall of Fame this year and getting the HOF game cover spot.
Few basketball players were as suited for video game honors as Carter was during his illustrious career. Carter isarguably the greatest slam dunker in NBA history, and he was great enough at anything else to have strong variety to his style as well.NBA 2Kfans already have hope for Carter’s presence creating a slam dunk contest mode to honor his legendary performance.
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Carter has been retired for over four years now, but 2025 is the year his legacy will be fully celebrated by the basketball world. The Brooklyn Nets will retire his jersey in the upcoming season to mirror the Basketball Hall of Fame andNBA 2K25in honoring him for all he’s done for the game.
Each edition of the game has its own perksthat are met with mixed results from theNBA 2Kcustomer base. The cover spots will see users picking the game that makes the most sense for them, but die-hard fans get excited about the unexpected names in the special editions. Carter receiving the video game honor in time for his Hall of Fame induction sees a special legend getting remembered in a modern way byNBA 2K25.
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