The NBA Finals matchup are upon us as the repeat matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors is set to kick off later tonight. In honor of this, 2K Sports decided to go ahead and reveal their new cover athlete for the upcoming NBA 2K17 and it might come as a little bit of a surprise.
The NBA 2K games have had a lot of different players grace the cover over the years, with last year even including three on it. With the record setting season that Golden State and Steph Curry have been having, you might have thought he could get a solo cover to himself this year, but instead 2K chose one of the more underrated stars of the league that is a true comeback story with the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George.
Paul George was drafted out of Fresno State back in 2010 by the Indiana Pacers and got better each year for his first four seasons, which led to him being named to the training camp roster of the US national team ahead of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. However, he suffered a very gruesome injury on the court, a compound fracture of of both bones in his lower right leg, which forced him to miss all but a few games later in that next NBA season.
George played in all 81 games in the 2015-2016 season, putting up career highs in multiple categories before losing in a very competitive seven game first round series against the Toronto Raptors. This was pretty amazing to come back from an injury like that basically better than ever, and getting picked for a cover like this less than two years after such a catastrophic injury just shows how talented he really is. Fox Sports asked 2K senior vice president of basketball operations Jason Argent just why George was chosen, in which he responded:
“I think he’s an amazing basketball player, and yes, he’s a superstar. […] He’s proven himself over and over and over again. He’s a great pick. He’s a fan of the brand. He’s an amazing basketball player — one of the best. He’s a fan of ours, we’re a fan of him, so it was kind of a natural selection.”
Making this even funnier is that George has previously complained about his NBA 2K rating, but I have a feeling that they will give him a very good one this year.
