NBA 2K13 News Post

NBA 2K13 Cover Athletes Are Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose

08:41 AM - June 26, 2012 by Steve_OS

2K Sports Crowns Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin
and Derrick Rose as Cover Athletes for NBA® 2K13

Trio of young superstars represents the “New Dynasty” of NBA legends

New York, NY – June 26, 2012 – 2K Sports today announced that the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin and the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose have been crowned the cover athletes for NBA® 2K13, the next installment of the top-selling and top-rated NBA video game simulation franchise*.

”Being crowned as one of the NBA 2K13 cover athletes is a huge honor and something I always dreamt about,” said Durant, who won his third straight scoring title and led the Thunder franchise to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1996. “It’s definitely humbling to grace the cover after the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.”

“There’s so much young talent around the NBA, so it’s very exciting to be chosen for NBA 2K’s ‘New Dynasty’ alongside Kevin and Derrick,” added Griffin, who helped lead the Clippers to their first postseason since 2006. “The NBA 2K series has always been my first choice when I want to get a game in.”

“It’s a dream come true to be one of the cover athletes for NBA 2K13,” commented Rose, the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player, who led the Bulls to a league-best 50-16 record this season. “I’ve worked closely with 2K Sports since NBA 2K10, and I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan as the latest Chicago Bull to be featured on the cover.”

In their young but impressive careers, Rose, Durant and Griffin have each taken the NBA by storm. All three are past winners of the NBA Rookie of the Year award, and have also amassed eight All-Star berths, three scoring titles, and one Most Valuable Player award between them.

“There are many young superstars in today’s NBA, but we’ve selected three incredible athletes for the cover of NBA 2K13 that represent the NBA well,” concluded Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “It’s clear to us that Blake, Derrick and Kevin are the most deserving guys to inherit the NBA 2K cover from Jordan, Magic and Bird.”

Developed by Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio, NBA 2K13 is not yet rated by the ESRB and will be available on October 2, 2012 in North America and October 5, 2012 internationally. The Wii U version of the title will be available during the holiday season. Fans are encouraged to pre-order now at participating retailers in order to receive the downloadable NBA All-Star content package presented by Sprite on day one at no extra cost.

For more information on 2K Sports, visit www.2KSports.com.

For more information on NBA 2K13, visit http://www.facebook.com/NBA2K.

Game: NBA 2K13Reader Score: 8.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 75 - View All

NBA 2K13 Videos

Member Comments

# 141 Angel_G @ 06/30/12 05:12 PM

So far the new 2K13 cover is as bad as the NBA 2K10. In 2K they edited Kobe so much he looked mexican and in 2K13 the designs look look very simple and it looks like it took them a couple of hours. NBA 2K12 had awesome designs.

# 142 Crimson.Bullet @ 07/01/12 02:08 PM

I agree and fully understand your point BSchwartz07's.......but the fact of the matter is: "i'm sure that many people despise NBA 2K (EA Nation) for it's (Lebron-like) "Dominance" of sports simulation gaming. but that never stops them from going out there and putting their best foot forward. weather the world likes or doesn't like 2K best foot........it is out there and it is respected. the same for having LJ on the cover......you can't go from kobe, mj, mj-magic-bird, to 3 players who are clearly all-stars and one an ex MVP, and completely skip over the player who is completely dominating the game as magic-bird-and jordan had. you just can't make that kind of mistake. true regardless of who is on the cover NBA 2K will continue to reign, but as far as judging books by their cover....this one would fall short. you look at all the past covers i mentioned and you'll see 1 thing in common......."CHAMPIONS". that's why i have never complained about LJ not getting a cover til he won a ring......because that was the standard that 2K had created for their cover hopefuls......"Simply the Best". and though this years cover will feature 3 amazing talents, it lacks the 2K standard of "Simply the Best". 3 time MVP and finally 1 Ring.....and the manner in which he accomplished those things, that is not something to over look. So if you actually read these blogs 2K.......please keep up the unbelievable work, but also...please....please.....please......don't let the fickle ways of "fans" or people who's outlook on things changes with the wind change your approach in offering up the best sports game to date. 2K Sports 4-life.

# 143 8KB24 @ 07/01/12 04:50 PM

IDK why is everybody so disappointed with this cover. As a future graphics designer I know it is not easy to make this cover, but it surely isn't hard.. Last years(2K12) was better IMHO due to more design flow around players. But nonetheless... Not bad cover. But I'd love to see some of your covers as you hate it so much.

# 144 Shinyhubcaps @ 07/01/12 08:15 PM

I can't do the visual effects, but I could lay out the cover better than this. If you're going to have 3 players, why have so much empty space? The excess of empty space is the biggest weird design trend. Why are only Blake and Derrick's hands clipped off? They should either fit 100% of the photos on the page, or they could zoom in and clip more off. Finally, why the red background? I know 2K said that red is its color, but something that looks better with the Thunder jersey colors would be better, or something altogether neutral, or any pattern/color that shows less of the background (as I say, too much dead space).

# 145 Shinyhubcaps @ 07/01/12 08:18 PM

It also bugs me that the jerseys go home/road/road. Something symmetrical like road/home/road would be much better. Also, adding the court lines makes the poses look weird. Durant is going right for the rim, but Blake and Derrick are jumping way off to the side.

# 146 chronoxiong @ 07/02/12 02:49 AM

I'm a little shocked that they went with a 3-player cover. The effects look kinda weird too especially on Durant's right arm. I understand the concept of it but it still feels lacking. I have to say that last year's trio covers were way better and will be tough to beat.

# 147 youvalss @ 07/02/12 02:18 PM

I think 2K wanted so badly to tell people "This year we're not all about the legends again - just look at the cover!", that they went a bit extreme. There must be people out there who think: "Not this thing again, not the same game every year, I'm definitely picking the other game".

I think it's a very good decision making by 2K. They know what they're doing (I'm not talking about the design, just the concept). Well played, 2K.

# 148 jd_newton72 @ 07/03/12 10:36 AM

D rose looks like he's constipated in that cover.

# 149 blues rocker @ 07/03/12 11:38 AM

I don't really care much about what a game cover looks like, but I'm a graphic artist, and the layout of that cover is kind of awkward - the way all three players are just lined up side by side makes for a strange design. then there's the weird way Durant's arm just disappears into Rose. The court lines on the ground make the perspective look off, and the way that "splash" effect comes up under Durant's feet doesn't match the perspective either. They should've had each player doing a different pose, rather than having them all doing a similar one-handed dunk...the 3 players in a row creates a weird repetition effect where they are lined up like birthday candles.

Last year's combined design of Magic, Bird and Jordan was better because each player had a distinct pose so they could combine them in a more interesting way. This was a pretty cool layout:

# 150 VDusen04 @ 07/05/12 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blues rocker

Well thanks for that. Now I won't be able to look at that cover without wondering where Durant's left hand went.

# 151 aloncho11 @ 07/05/12 11:51 AM

Durant's hand is just mimicking what happens in the actual video game

# 152 MiamiHeatles @ 08/24/12 07:14 PM

Lol wow how you don't put King James on the cover after a season like that.. Who cares if majority of ignorant people don't like LeBron and probably would have not purchase the game.. To hell with them!

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 78Next »

More Links

NBA 2K13 Cover Athletes Are Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose