Over the past year, there have been countless conversations as to who the next face of the NBA may be once the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry ultimately retire. And at least in the eyes of the 2K Games, the video game company behind the NBA 2K video games series, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have solidified that claim due to his historic list of accomplishments this past season.
Much has been said about the Thunder and their run to the 2025 NBA Finals, which was capped off in a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers last month that saw Gilgeous-Alexander record a game-high 29 points and 12 assists. But some haven’t exactly been quick to give Gilgeous-Alexander the kind of credit he should be receiving for a year that we have never seen before.
In particular, Gilgeous-Alexander became the first player in league history to win the regular season MVP, the scoring title, and both the Conference Finals MVP and the Finals MVP in the same season.
All season long, Gilgeous-Alexander proved that he was truly the best player in all of basketball, despite the fact that he had plenty of critics of his play style throughout the year. And as a result, Gilgeous-Alexander was deservingly named the sole cover athlete for the standard edition of the upcoming NBA 2K26 game, which is set to be released in September.
The NBA 2K social media team shared the news in a post on social media, which a sneak peek of what the cover will look like when the game is released.
The generational run continues ⚡️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is your #NBA2K26 Standard Edition Cover Athlete!
Pre-order NBA 2K26 starting tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/1pQTtWOUh2
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 8, 2025
Whether you believe Gilgeous-Alexander is truly the next “face of the league” or not, it’s hard to argue the kind of year that he had. So it is hard to argue that this latest honor was anything but the obvious and correct pick.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.