Former Celtics Players Make Surprise Appearance On Bizarre NBA 2K26 Cover
The standard edition cover for NBA 2K26 is finally here after being revealed on Tuesday. As expected, it features reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA Finals win over the Indiana Pacers last month.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t the only player on the cover. He’s surrounded by Boston Celtics players, who have been blurred out.
Even with the blurring, two of the Celtics players behind Gilgeous-Alexander appear to be Luke Kornet on the left and Al Horford on the right. The player in the front left also resembles Horford, so he might be on the cover twice — something many fans have also noticed and criticized online.
It’s unclear why 2K didn’t just use a picture of Gilgeous-Alexander by himself like past covers, or use a real image instead of one that appears to be photoshopped.
Furthermore, the picture is already dated. Kornet is now with the San Antonio Spurs after signing a four-year, $41 million deal in free agency, while Horford is also a free agent and unlikely to return, according to Brad Stevens.
Boston graced the cover last year as well, as Jayson Tatum headlined NBA 2K25 (by himself) after leading the Celtics to their NBA-record 18th title. He’s currently rehabbing a ruptured Achilles suffered in May during the playoffs.
This marks the first 2K cover appearance for SGA, and it’s well-deserved. Not only did he lead a young Thunder team to one of the best regular seasons in NBA history (68 wins) while leading the league in scoring last season, but he also won Western Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP en route to a championship, capping one of the most dominant individual seasons ever.
Already a three-time All-Star, the 26-year-old guard now has another accolade to add to his collection. The game will be available for pre-order starting Wednesday, July 9.