Shams Charania dropped the news Tuesday: San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama is the cover athlete for NBA 2K27. The 7-foot-4 center becomes the first Spurs player to grace the franchise’s cover since the game launched in 1999, and the first true center on a standard 2K cover since Shaquille O’Neal headlined the Legend Edition of 2K18.
Three years in the league, and the kid’s already got a trophy case that smells like prime rib. Rookie of the Year in 2024. Defensive Player of the Year in 2026. Through 181 career games, he’s averaging 23.4 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 blocks — numbers that make you check the box score twice because nobody that tall should be able to move like that.
This past season, Wembanyama averaged 25 points per game, 13th-best in the NBA, and 11.5 rebounds, fourth-best. He dropped 50 on the Washington Wizards in November 2024 and pulled down 23 boards against the Denver Nuggets in January 2025. Four times he’s grabbed 20 or more rebounds in a regular-season game. The man eats glass for breakfast and asks for seconds.
The cover announcement comes a month after the Spurs fell to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, losing in five games with several late leads slipping through their fingers. Wembanyama’s individual performance in the series drew praise, though his handling of the loss attracted some criticism — the kind of thing that would’ve been handled with a shrug and a plate of ribs back in my day, but kids today wear their hearts on their sleeves and their postgame quotes on Twitter.
None of that changes the math. Wembanyama is the most physically dominant young player the league has seen in years, and 2K Sports isn’t in the business of putting role players on their box. He’ll almost certainly carry one of the highest overall ratings in the game when it drops in September.
A center on the cover. A Spur on the cover. Both firsts. The franchise has been running since ’99, and it took a 7-foot-4 French alien to break both droughts at once. The analytics nerds will tell you his per-36 numbers project historically significant. I’ll tell you what I see: a kid who blocks shots like he’s swatting flies off a picnic table and scores like the rim owes him money.
The game is expected to release in September.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports — Victor Wembanyama to reportedly be named NBA 2K27 cover athlete
- ESPN — Shams Charania (original report)