Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has compiled a few accolades the last few months.
He finished the 2024-25 regular season as the NBA scoring champion. He was named the Western Conference finals MVP in May and then the NBA Finals MVP after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a league championship last month. His first signature shoe with Converse will be released this fall, and last week, he agreed to a four-year supermax contract extension worth $285 million.
Gilgeous-Alexander can add “video game cover athlete” to that growing list of accomplishments.
Wednesday morning, NBA 2K announced Gilgeous-Alexander, WNBA forward Angel Reese and NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony as the cover athletes for NBA 2K26, which will be released in September. Gilgeous-Alexander will be on the cover of the video game’s Standard Edition, and Reese will be the cover for the WNBA Edition. Anthony will be the cover for the for the Superstar Edition, an exclusive that includes 100,000 virtual currency (VC), which is a digital form of currency used to purchase upgrades within the game.
To add, the trio of athletes will share a cover for the game’s “Leave No Doubt” Edition, a special release that includes everything in the Superstar Edition plus an additional 35,000 VC.
Weeks after leading the Thunder to a hard-fought, seven-game championship series win against the Indiana Pacers, Gilgeous-Alexander is now starting to appreciate his historic season. He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to win the scoring title, league MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same season.
“When you look back, you realize it,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The Athletic in a one-on-one interview. “Being in the midst of it and getting lost in the process and getting lost in competing, I didn’t really realize it. I didn’t feel like I was doing something extraordinary. I was just going out there trying to be the best version of myself playing the game that I love.
“But it’ll for sure be a season that I never forget.”
Since the Thunder’s championship parade, Gilgeous-Alexander said he’d kept a low profile to spend time with family after a draining season. He said the game being released around the same time as his signature shoe is an added bonus.
“It’s a childhood dream come true,” he said of the video game cover. “Those feelings are the best feelings in the world, and it’s hard to wrap your head around, really. It feels amazing.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said signing the extension was an easy decision. The Thunder are champions and have the nucleus of the team under contract for next season. The Canadian guard, a three-time NBA All-Star and three-time All-NBA First Team selection, added that Thunder fans “never wavered” in their support through the years and have helped him make Oklahoma City a home away from home.
“You feel the love, and you feel the appreciation,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “(The extension) was a no-brainer, obviously, but to know that I have a little bit more of a run in Oklahoma City is a great thing.”
Gilgeous-Alexander finished the 2024-25 season averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game during the regular season, all while shooting 52 percent from the field. Being on the video game cover is special for a league MVP who, as a teen, enjoyed playing 2K using Andre Iguodala when he played for the Denver Nuggets during the 2012-13 season. Gilgeous-Alexander said he also used J.R. Smith when he played for the New York Knicks. Both were among Gilgeous-Alexander’s favorites, two athletes he watched throughout their careers.
Like Gilgeous-Alexander, Reese has fond memories of the video game growing up. She recalled her first times playing 2K in the early 2010s, back when LeBron James was with the Miami Heat. The game, she said, helped build a stronger bond with her younger brother.
It’s a different vibe, however, being one of the faces of the game.
“I’m just really happy to be a part of something that’s legendary, something that two other great players are on,” Reese said.
Additionally, Reese finds herself on the cover of the game and hopes to be an inspiration for girls looking to follow in her footsteps. On July 1, she was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 19.7 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and two steals in three games between June 23-29. This past Sunday, Reese was named a reserve for the WNBA All-Star Game, which will be played July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“If you can see it, you can believe it,” Reese said. “Hopefully, that gives them the opportunity to know that they can do these same things.”
As of Tuesday, Reese is averaging 13.2 points, a WNBA-best 12.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals through 18 games. No other player in the league is averaging 10 rebounds per contest.
“You don’t win championships without rebounds and without defense,” Reese said. “The greatest players play both sides of the ball.
“I’m only in my second year, and I’m just reaching to where my potential can actually go. I think I’ve done a great job so far, just giving myself grace and just continuing to get better every single day.”
Reese specializes in rebounding. Anthony, like Gilgeous-Alexander, can put the ball in the basket. A 10-time NBA All-Star and the league scoring champion in 2013, Anthony scored 28,289 points — which ranks 10th all-time on the NBA career scoring list — and averaged 22.5 points per game in 19 seasons.
To add, Anthony is a four-time Olympic medalist in men’s basketball, three of them gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016. His résumé was good enough to earn a spot in the 2025 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class — for his individual play and for his contributions on “The Redeem Team” in 2008 after the United States finished the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece with a disappointing bronze medal.
(Images courtesy of NBA 2K)
