Following a historic season in which he was named Finals MVP and won an NBA Championship, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is reportedly set to be the cover athlete for NBA 2K26.
2K hasn’t officially revealed any details about NBA 2K26, leaving fans in the dark. However, the platforms and release date were reportedly confirmed early. Most notably, all signs indicate that the game will not be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, marking an end to last-gen console support.
In addition, the Switch 2 is rumored to receive an enhanced version of the game, aligning with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Along with that news drop, the NBA 2K26 cover athlete was also revealed.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Named NBA 2K26 Cover Athlete
NBA insider Shams Charania reported, “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will grace the new cover of NBA 2K26, per sources.”
The official 2K X Account responded, “So this is what it’s like being on the other side of a Shams tweet. smh.”
NBA 2K games typically feature different players on their covers. For example, NBA 2K25 featured Jason Tatum on the Standard Edition, WNBA star A’ja Wilson on the WNBA Edition cover, and Vince Carter on the Hall of Fame Edition. NBA 2K26 is likely to feature other cover athletes as well.
Gilgeous-Alexander was an obvious choice for the NBA 2K26 standard edition, as the dynamic guard averaged 32 points, five rebounds, six assists, and over one steal per game in the regular season. The Thunder were also the best team in the NBA, winning 68 games. SGA beat out Nikola Jokic to win MVP, and that performance carried over into the postseason.
SGA dominated all playoffs and helped lead Oklahoma City to its first NBA Championship, and was named Finals MVP. Who else would you like to see as an NBA 2K26 cover athlete? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Forums.
In other sports news, check out the best College Football 26 sliders and the six best offensive playbooks.
