The late legend Kobe Bryant is officially the poster boy forNBA 2K24. It will mark his second stint as the cover athlete afterthe Mamba Forever Edition ofNBA 2K21.NBA 2Khas been adapting each NBA basketball season into video game form since 1999. NowNBA 2K24is officially in the works and is due out soon. Sparse details have been revealed about the game yet, rendering most fan discussion to be rooted in speculation, but today, some concrete information is finally available to the public.RELATED:New NBA 2K23 Challenge Honors LeBron James' New All-Time Scoring RecordAs revealed on the officialNBA 2KTwitter account, the newest entry will launch with two editions: the Kobe Bryant Edition and the Black Mamba Edition. The box arts for both editions were also revealed, the former featuring Bryant performing a dunk against a kaleidoscopic background, while the latter simply features a zoomed-in profile of his sweaty, determined face. The practice of releasing multiple editions isnothing new for theNBA 2Kseries(or video games in general these days), so it’s not surprising to see the tradition continue with the next installment. The tweet further went on to note that pre-orders for the game are set to open on July 7th.
Fans in the comments appeared to be excited about this packaging decision, filling the replies with heart and snake emojis. The official Xbox account also praised the choice, subtly hinting at a version coming to its consoles. Some began to speculate as to what players would appear on other editions, a few users demanded that there be cross-play between versions, and another few noted the missed opportunity to not feature Bryant wearing his iconic 24 jersey as opposed to the 8 seen in the cover art. The latter is particularly notable, sincehis in-game renders from prior gamesdid honor that detail.
Kobe Bryant was an undeniable legend among professional basketball players, andeven forayed into video gamesonce or twice. His tragic death shook the world, including those who might not be as into basketball, so honoring him in theNBA 2Kseries was a very obvious move, and one that’s thankfully been done multiple times so far. It should be interesting to see how elseNBA 2K24could further pay tribute to him once it lands on store shelves and online shops.
NBA 2K24is poised to release in September 2023.
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