$16,000,000-Rich Company?s Kobe Bryant News Draws 3-Worded Fire Response From Giannis Antetokounmpo

While the next season of the NBA is still pretty far away, basketball fans have turned their attention to updates regarding the next best thing: The NBA 2K24. After its predecessor received generally favorable reviews from critics, fans are expecting the next installment of the NBA video game series to bring something different and exciting.

A recent announcement by the game series has generated interest not only amongst the fans but from a few basketball players as well.

NBA 2K announces Kobe Bryant as cover athlete

NBA 2K took to their official Twitter account to announce that ‘NBA 2k24’ will feature former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant as their cover athlete. The late NBA Legend was shown to be ready for action on the covers of what would be two different versions of the game- the Kobe Bryant Edition and the Black Mamba Edition.

This marks the fourth time that Kobe Bryant has been chosen to appear on the game’s cover. He has earlier been featured on the main cover of ‘NBA 2K10’ (2009), the legendary edition cover of NBA 2K17 (2016) and the Mamba Forever edition cover of NBA 2K21 (2020).

‘NBA 2K24’ marks the 25th game in the acclaimed basketball video game series. Originally published by Sega, the game series were soon taken over by 2k Sports. The cover feature acts as a fitting tribute to the 18 x NBA All-Star who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in January 2020.

Giannis Antetokounmpo responds to the news

Ronnie Singh, the Digital Marketing Director of 2K Games, took to Mark Zuckerberg’s new social media platform to announce the latest news. He posted the two covers on his ‘Threads’ account, accompanied by an infinity emoji and two heart emojis as caption.

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The post received likes and comments from various people, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 28-year-old power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks. The player responded to the news with a three worded sentence: “This is fire.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo was in the news earlier after he appeared in a video that honored Gianna ‘Gigi’ Bryant, Kobe’s daughter who passed away in the same helicopter crash that claimed her father’s life. The Greek-Nigerian player was not that close with the Black Mamba on a personal level. Even then, the two held a mutual respect for each other whenever they met on the basketball court. Giannis continues to hold the legend in high regard even after his passing.

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‘NBA 2K24’ is set to release later this year on most of the gaming platforms. The game will help fans to not only immerse themselves in the world of basketball but also keep the memory of Kobe Bryant alive in their minds.