The cover athletes for NBA 2K25 may have been leaked, and it’s set to have a man and woman sharing the cover for the first time.
A major part of the build to every major sports game is the cover athlete. The Madden Curse might be dead and buried at this point, but fan discussion regarding who deserves the honor is a popular topic of discussion each year whether it’s the NFL, NBA, or WWE. NBA 2K is no different.
In recent years, NBA 2K games have either had multiple athletes sharing the cover or have had different cover athletes for each edition of the game. While Kobe Bryant got exclusive ownership of the NBA 2K24 cover, things are going back to normal with NBA 2K25. A photo may have leaked which athletes will appear on the game’s box art.
Jayson Tatum and A’ja Wilson set to be on NBA 2K25 cover
A photo posted on Twitter shows an NBA 2K25 cover that has Boston Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum and Las Vegas Ace A’ja Wilson. The photo comes from @iinangelo on Twitter, who posted a picture of a framed painting that shows the cover for the “All-Star Edition” of the game.
Tatum and Wilson represent a one-two punch of champions for the cover. The tweet came a few weeks after Tatum helped the Boston Celtics claim the NBA championship with a 4-1 series victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Las Vegas Aces are the reigning WNBA champions, with Wilson also claiming MVP honors for the series.
NBA 2K25 is seemingly set to be the first time a man and woman share the game’s cover together. There were WNBA Editions for each NBA 2K game since 2K22, but male and female players have been kept on separate covers to this point. Other sports games like FIFA 23 and EA Sports UFC 5 have had men and women together on the covers.
Other NBA 2K25 cover athletes likely to be revealed
NBA 2K25 will likely have cover athletes alongside Jayson Tatum and A’ja Wilson. While the pair of champions are set to be on the cover of the All-Star Edition of the game, there have been more than two cover athletes for most NBA 2K games in recent years.
NBA 2K23 had Devin Booker, Michael Jordan, Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird appear on different editions of the game, with rapper J. Cole also controversially receiving the honor. NBA 2K22 had Luka Doncic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Candace Parker all getting box art treatment.
Precedent suggests that other basketballers, particularly a legendary figure from the past, will also get confirmed in the near future.
