The release of NBA 2K23 is approaching faster than you may realize. The latest game in the extremely popular franchise is starting to do its cover unveiling tour, and on Tuesday, 2K Sports announced that Michael Jordan fittingly would be on one of them.
On Tuesday, 2K unveiled the athletes on the cover of the WNBA edition for this year’s game: Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. The cover itself is fantastic.
Two of the best to ever do it 🏀
Introducing our #NBA2K23 WNBA Edition Cover Athletes @DianaTaurasi and @S10Bird
Pre-order starting 7/7 pic.twitter.com/Lwf5emabUu
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 6, 2022
This is the second year in a row that we’ll get a WNBA athlete on a cover of the NBA 2K franchise, with Candace Parker being the first to grace it on NBA 2K22. Parker is an all-time great, so it only made sense to follow her up with two of the best to ever do it.
Taurasi has won three WNBA titles, five gold medals, and six Euroleague championships. Bird, meanwhile, has won four WNBA championships, five gold medals, and five Euroleague titles. The former UConn teammates are two of the most accomplished basketball players of all time, and now, they can add a video game cover to their respective lists of accomplishments.
Both players spoke about the news, per Insider.
“This is huge because this is the type of thing that, in subtle ways, helps change narratives and conversations,” Bird told Insider. “It just makes it normal. A woman’s basketball player in a game, on a cover, it just normalizes it all. In 10 years, it won’t even be a big deal, which is a good thing.”
“There are so many kids that dream of pursuing a professional basketball career, and they can now also dream of being on the NBA 2K cover, whether they want to play in the NBA or WNBA,” Taurasi added in a statement.
Bird is in the midst of her final season. NBA 2K23 will hit consoles on Sept. 9, 2022.
