Reigning NBA MVP Among Three Cover Athletes Announced For NBA 2K26

After a historic season that earned him NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, and a championship for his Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's next accolade is cover athlete, as the star point guard has been named as one of three players--along with WNBA star Angel Reese and NBA hall-of-famer Carmelo Anthony--that will be appear on the cover of NBA 2K26 this September.

SGA will don the cover of the standard edition of the game, which marks the first time an Oklahoma City player has appeared on an NBA 2K cover since Kevin Durant's appearance on NBA 2K15. The Thunder guard scored nearly 33 points per game in 76 games this past season--with over six assists and five rebounds per game to boot--en route to the league MVP and scoring title accolades.


The Chicago Sky's Angel Reese has been selected for NBA 2K26's WNBA Edition, where she succeeds legendary player Candace Parker's appearance on the 2K25 cover. Reese was named an All-Star in her rookie WNBA season, averaging 14 points and 13 rebounds per game throughout the 2024 campaign.

The Superstar Edition will feature soon-to-be NBA hall-of-famer Carmelo Anthony, who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame in September. The Superstar Edition will cost $100 and include the following extras:

  • One week early access
  • 100,000 VC
  • MyCareer content:
    • Extra Skill Boosts
    • Extra Gatorade Boosts
    • Cover Star Jersey
    • 2-hour Double XP Coin
  • MyTeam content
    • Full NBA Series 1 Team Selection
    • Triple Threat Park Free Agent Pack (contains 3 guaranteed FA cards)
    • Five Series 1 Packs
    • 2-hour Double XP Coin

Finally, the Leave No Doubt Edition will feature all three of the aforementioned athletes on one cover. It will be available for purchase until September 7 for $150, and it will include everything in the Superstar Edition as well as the following extra perks:

  • An additional 35,000 VC
  • Season 1 Pro Pass
  • Summer Pass (Season 7-9 Pro Passes scheduled for release in Summer 2026)
  • Leave No Doubt MyTeam Pack
    • Includes a Galaxy Opal card (scheduled for release December 2025) and an Invincible card (scheduled for release in May 2026)
  • MyCareer Puffer Jacket

NBA 2K26 launches September 5 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The game will also make its debut on the Nintendo Switch 2 with Gen 9 features like ProPlay, The W, and MyNBA, but it will not include cross-play with Xbox or PlayStation platforms.

Early access for the Superstar and Leave No Doubt editions will begin August 29 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC players.

Source