New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson was not announced as the NBA 2K21 cover athlete on Thursday.

Instead, NBA 2K just used Williamson for the unveiling of the new game since he's a rising star in the NBA. He also has a 2K endorsement deal.

The popular video game will have multiple cover athletes and those players will be announced in July, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN:

It does make sense to have Zion Williamson be one of the cover athletes for the game. The Pelicans forward figures to be one of the faces of the NBA for the next decade or so assuming he stays healthy.

Williamson appeared in 19 games for the Pelicans in 2019-20 before the season was suspended in March. The former Duke superstar put up 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 58.9 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from beyond the arc and 64.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Zion and the Pelicans will be among the 22 teams playing at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. New Orleans will be battling it out with the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Pelicans racked up 28 wins before Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and commissioner Adam Silver suspended games. New Orleans is in the 10th spot in the West.

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