Every year around this time, gamers are elated to figure out which athletes will grace the cover of NBA 2K. This year it was announced that Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson will be the cover athletes for this year’s release of NBA 2K25. Vince Carter will serve as the Hall of Fame edition cover athlete.
NBA 2K announced the news on July 10. Tatum and Wilson also did a sit-down interview with “The Old Man and The Three” to reveal the news to the fans.
To be a star, it’s gotta be #BallOverEverything 🌟
Introducing our #NBA2K25 Cover Athletes @jaytatum0 and @_ajawilson22! 💫
Pre-order the All-Star Edition today ➡️ https://t.co/gLm2YAsIjO pic.twitter.com/OwXyK4d71f
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 10, 2024
A career destined for immortality 🫡@mrvincecarter15 is our #NBA2K25 Hall of Fame Edition Cover Athlete! ✈️
Pre-order today ➡️ https://t.co/gLm2YAsIjO#BallOverEverything pic.twitter.com/YOZRsE9IGy
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 10, 2024
“I had a unique experience — it was on my birthday,” Tatum said. “I was at my mom’s house, and [my son] Deuce ran downstairs. He had a bag, and he was, like, ‘Daddy, happy birthday.’ I opened it, and it was ‘Congrats, you’re on the cover of 2K.’ I got teary-eyed, and I cried a little bit.”
“When I was younger I had so many dreams and goals and things I wanted to check off, and I’m experiencing those things in real time,” Tatum continued. “I grew up playing 2K at my mom’s house with my best friends and my cousins, and dreaming about being in the game one day and then being on the cover. For that moment to come true, I got a little emotional.”
“For me, my agent called and said ‘Hey, you’re going to be on the cover,'” Wilson said. “I was like ‘Oh, wait. About time, Ronnie. D— it.’ It was a big moment, you see yourself and you dream of seeing your face in these spaces.”
Tatum is just coming off winning his first championship, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Wilson won her second championship in a row last season with the Aces, defeating the New York Liberty.
Last year, the cover athletes for NBA 2K24 were Kobe Bryant and Sabrina Ionescu.
