2K has officially revealed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the cover athlete for NBA 2K26. The confirmation comes just hours after NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news, while 2K seemingly acknowledged it was true. Just a few short hours later, 2K shared the cover artwork.
"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is your #NBA2K26 Standard Edition Cover Athlete!" the developer/publisher announced.
The 26-year-old (soon to be 27 years old) guard is coming off an MVP and title-winning season, in which he finished as last season's scoring champ and Finals MVP. He is just the fourth player ever to earn MVP, Finals MVP, and scoring title in a single season, joining the prestigious ranks of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaq, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O'Neal.
Averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and five rebounds per game, Gilgeous-Alexander helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 68-14 record. His dominance continued into the postseason, where he averaged nearly 30 points and 6.5 assists per game. Further cementing his greatness, he averaged 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game in the Finals, capping the series with a masterful 29-point, 12-assist performance in Game 7 to earn Finals MVP.
As 2K acknowledged, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is indeed on a generational run. Gilgeous-Alexander was recently awarded a record-setting 4-year, $285 million extension. His being named as the cover athlete for NBA 2K26 is the culmination of the "Summer of SGA."
2K has not revealed any further details about NBA 2K26, but did state that pre-orders will open tomorrow. This at least suggests that we'll be getting release date information and perhaps some top-level gameplay feature details.
New NBA 2K games are typically released in early or mid-September, a few weeks before the start of the NBA's preseason schedule. Dealabs Magazine recently reported that NBA 2K26 will be released on Friday, September 5, 2025. This year's game is said to be in development by Visual Concepts, a subsidiary of 2K Games.
While official details will come tomorrow, the rumors claim that NBA 2K26 will be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A fully optimized version of the game has also reportedly been designed for the Nintendo Switch 2. Surprisingly, the game will not be coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4, making it the first 2K game to no longer support last-gen consoles. And finally, it doesn't appear we'll be getting a price increase as the game is reportedly priced at $69.99 across all platforms.
Remember, these pricing, platforms, and release date details are purely rumored and have not yet been confirmed by 2K. We can, however, expect confirmation tomorrow.