NBA 2K23 cover to feature rapper J. Cole, 2K announces
Gaming publisher 2K Games has announced that rapper J. Cole would be featured on the cover of the NBA 2K23 Dreamer Edition. Cole, alongside Elite and Bas, members of his record label Dreamville Records, will also be featured as this year’s characters in the game’s MyCareer storyline.
Featuring the hip-hop star indicates the game is gearing towards more off-court actions in MyCareer. The developer also confirmed that the trio would play a major role in players’ non-NBA careers, such as music, fashion, and businesses.
A day before the announcement, the Novate-based gaming company teased fans about who would be featured on the cover. Many guessed that it would be a current or former NBA player like the 2022 Most Improved Player Ja Morant, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, the late legendary player Bill Russell and more.
It turned out that the cover figure for the game’s exclusive edition was a rapper and record producer. Regardless, having Cole as this year’s face of the game was well-accepted by players and embraced.
“NBA 2K has long been a place to discover new musical talent through their game and continues to be a gold standard for showcasing all things basketball culture,” Cole.
“It’s been an amazing journey to not only appear on a cover of this year’s game, but to be part of the MyCareer storyline, soundtrack and bring the DREAMER brand into NBA 2K. There’s also more to come, so watch out for all things Dreamville and DREAMER brand drops during Seasons and for Bas and Elite in this year’s MyCareer story.”
NBA 2K VP of Global Marketing Strategy Alfie Brody said he hoped that with the 37-year-old making an appearance in-game, the developer could steer players into an off-court NBA career in the game.
“The sheer scale, depth and talent featured in this year’s MyCAREER creates an unparalleled experience within NBA 2K23,” Brody said.
“At the top of that list of talent is our first cover star who truly sits at the intersection of basketball and music. Bringing a visionary like J. Cole and DREAMER into the creative process for both the game and the soundtrack showcases the pillar of culture that NBA 2K23 has become.”
As mentioned above, Cole will be accompanied by Elite and Bas. According to 2K Games, the duo will help players “befriend J. Cole and capture the hearts and minds of The City.”
Other releases
2K Games also announced a few soundtracks for NBA 2K23, featuring some of the industry’s heavy-hitters such as Jackson Wang’s “TITANIC (feat. Rich Brian)”, JID’s “Surround Sound (feat. 21 Savage & Baby Tate)”, Drake’s “Wants and Needs (feat. Lil Baby)”, Megan Thee Stallion’s “Megan’s Piano”, Jack Harlow’s “Nail Tech” and more.
Published by 2K Games and developed by Visual Concepts, NBA 2K23 is an upcoming basketball video game for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Microsoft Windows. The game will be released next weekend on September 9, with details of the title’s in-game hub, The City, being released two days earlier.
