Winning a spot on the cover of an NBA 2K game is a huge achievement for any baller – the equivalent of a Rolling Stone cover feature, or having your mug on the front of Time magazine.
But the honour comes with one caveat: the dreaded ‘cover curse’, which supposedly causes any player to grace the 2K box to then pick up their bundle and leave for another team – right between the announcement of the cover star, and the actual release date of the game itself. Often bad news for the team who lose a superstar player, but always bad news for that edition of 2K, as it’s left with a cover that’s out of date before it even hits shelves.
The curse has ‘claimed’ plenty of players in recent years, and has actually hit the game almost every single year since LeBron James departed the Miami Heat for the Cavs back in 2014, with Kevin Durant, Paul George and Kyrie Irving all swapping teams too, leaving a trail of out-dated box art in their wake – only 2K16’s Steph Curry pick escaped the curse.
Of course, this leads us full-circle to the just-announced cover of NBA 2K19 that sees the king LeBron James return to his rightful place as the face of the game after a mammoth effort this season that has seen him almost single-handedly drag his ramshackle Cavs outfit to a fourth consecutive NBA Finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors.
It’s a series he seems destined to lose, despite his incredible solo effort, leading most to have been speculating all season as to where LeBron will head once finals are done, be it the Lakers, 76ers, Rockets, or anywhere in between.
2K Games are clearly ready for the very, very real possibility of his departure, and have wisely decided to dodge the issue this year by leaving his jersey out altogether and substituting a slick black-and-gold look, leaving us to picture him in whichever colours we wish.
Love Gaming?
Get the latest Gaming news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
It’s the latest and clearest signal that LeBron won’t be sticking around his hometown for another season, and a very smart way to break the supposed ‘cover curse’ for one year at least.
Now, if only ‘Bron can escape the curse of a sub-par team he’s battled with all season, and land somewhere that can challenge for a championship next season, everyone will be happy – except maybe Warriors fans.
