Kobe Bryant's NBA career may be over, but that doesn't mean his legend will be forgotten any time soon.
The Los Angeles Lakers great will be appearing on the cover of the legends edition of NBA 2K17, while Indiana Pacers forward Paul George will be appearing on the regular cover of the game.
Bryant, who just completed a 20-year career this past season, commented on how he feels about being on the cover of NBA 2K, the first time he'll be a cover athlete for the video games series since NBA 2K10:
“I never would have thought about this happening growing up as a kid. It’s really a dream come true to be on the cover. 2K is such an iconic brand, what they’ve done for the gaming industry, they’ve just taken it to another level, so to be a part of this environment is sweet.”
George, who will be making his first appearance on a cover of a basketball game, discussed what an honor it is considering he grew up playing the game:
“I’m excited,” George said. “To piggy back off what Kobe said, growing up, this comes with wanting to be in the NBA, you want to be on the cover, you want to be the best, I followed 2K since AI (Allen Iverson) was on the cover, so I’ve been with 2K and this is locking me in for life right here.”
Both cover athletes appeared at the NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals Championship event earlier this week. The event crowned the champion of an NBA 2K16 tournament which started back in February.
Although Bryant is now retired, George talked about how the character trait that he'll miss most about No. 24:
“His tenacity. That’s why I love him, and play the way that I play the game, wanting to play both sides of the ball. One statement that always stood out was you (Bryant) said: ‘Guys are going to embarrass you, that’s part of the game, but you live for those match ups.’ That’s why I love playing defense, I love being a star on offense. It’s only a certain few guys that want that challenge and thanks to Kobe I’m able to make my way.”
You can check out a video of the event below:
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/nba-world-reacts-passing-boxing-legend-muhammad-ali/”]NEXT: NBA world reacts to passing of boxing legend Muhammad Ali[/button]