Kobe Bryant, being the cover star of the 2k21 game, made it the 6th most anticipated game worldwide in 2020. Understandably so, because it was after the unfortunate passing away of the Lakers legend. Fans wanted the video game company to honor the legend, and they did with the ‘Mamba Forever‘ edition. He was also the star of the 25th-anniversary edition with 2k24. Behind the scenes too, Kobe was very involved with the ideas and everything related to it and once made a request which the NBA executive recently shared.

“I mean, you know Kobe. He wants to be part of everything and he was like, can I acquire this?” Ronnie Singh said on Byron Scott’s podcast. “I was like, ‘I mean it’s the video game Tech’. I’m sure but he got the vision of it. There’s a lot of ways that you can use that technology.”

The conversation was right after Kobe Bryant 4 time cover star discussion and when he became the first NBA athlete to get a digital scan. “You know when I was starting the ‘Rise of my career’ that was like late in Kobe’s career and so we did do some work together.” The digital marketing director continued on Fast Break, “He was actually the first um person that I got to scan. Now scanning obviously all these NBA players, they go through a process where they step into an RV, 100-something DSLR cameras take their likeness and get it perfect. Kobe was the first one that we ever did.”

The video game company has always cherished Kobe Bryant. Last year, they took matters into their own hands to safeguard one of the very iconic Kobe and Gianna’s mural. The art painted on the wall of Downtown Fitness in LA was supposed to be removed due to other marketing endeavors. But 2k swooped in to save the day and heard the pleas of over 90,000 people.

As per the Los Angeles Times, more than 90,000 signed the ‘change.org’ petition to save the mural. Singh revealed via Zoom that an agreement had been reached and the company made a philanthropic donation. They did not change anything about the artwork to honor Kobe Bryant.

Even though Kobe is a 4x cover star, he does not top the list. And also the top spot is not covered by Michael Jordan, LeBron James, or Shaquille O’Neal.

Kobe Bryant trails to 76ers legend in NBA 2k honor

It was another star in the 90s who was responsible for changing the culture. When the game first came out in 1999, they chose the Philadelphia 76ers icon to rival the NBA Live game from EA. Allen Iverson was the first basketball player to make it to the 2k cover and four more editions to top the list with 5.

Yes, Kobe Bryant is second on the list with 4, and it started back in the 2k1o edition. Then, he would be the star of the 2k17 Legends edition, which was released in the year when the 5x NBA Champion retired. His best friend Pau Gasol was featured on the Spanish cover and Paul George was the face of the regular 2k17 edition.

Third was an honor in 2k21 as the ‘Mamba Forever‘ edition plus the 2k14 had Kobe Bryant and Black Mamba editions. So, yes, the Lakers legend was instrumental in hyping up the video game against its competitors. Even Ronnie Singh, who is not much of a collector, still has a 2k10 cover signed by Kobe Bryant.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”