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Exclusive: Ronnie 2K picks favorite NBA 2K cover, and it’s not special Kobe Bryant one

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints | By DJ Siddiqi | Last updated Nov 14, 2024 2:17 PM ET

Ronnie 2K — AKA Ronnie Singh — has been seen as the face of the NBA 2K video game series for a number of years. While he’s commonly associated with the player ratings for the series, his role is actually much larger than that, serving as a community liaison, head of social media and the “glue” that supports everything that they do at 2K Sports.

Singh has been a part of the 2K team since 2008 and has been on hand to witness some of the greatest athletes don the cover of the popular video game series. He explains what goes into the decision-making process as far as deciding who earns the right to be the cover athlete each year.

“There’s three things that we really think about,” says Singh in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his new Lids commercial. “For us, it starts with authenticity. Is 2K important to the player? Did they dream of being a cover athlete? It really starts with the authenticity of it.

“The second thing I’d say is do they have the trajectories? Are they going to be relevant in terms of this year, is their team good, are they going to be there in June? That’s another big one,” Singh continues to explain. “I’d say finally it’s about aligning with what we’re trying to tell from a gameplay perspective or marketing. Do they align with the story that we’re trying to tell that year?”

Ronnie Singh reveals his favorite NBA 2K covers

The Los Angeles Lakers retired jersey No. 24 of Kobe Bryant at the UCLA Health Training Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Singh singles out the Kobe Bryant 2K24 covers as the perfect example of what 2K is trying to accomplish from a marketing and development perspective.

“I’m looking at the 2K24 cover right now and it was about celebrating Kobe and his legacy in his Hall of Fame year,” says Singh. “Some of the things that we did around such as saving his mural, getting to work with that team was great. Every year that’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to align with what we’re trying to do from a marketing and development perspective.”

While Singh mentions the Bryant version as the perfect example of what 2K looks for in a cover on an annual basis, he singles out three specific cover arts as his favorites since he joined the company in 2008: Michael Jordan’s NBA 2K11 cover, LeBron James’ NBA 2K19 cover and Dwyane Wade’s Miami Vice cover of NBA 2K20.

“2K11, putting Jordan on the cover for the first time was something that I think we never thought was going to happen,” says Singh. “And we go back now and Jordan has been in every game since then, but back then, it was like we were making a statement, we’re putting the G.O.A.T. on the cover. That totally changed our franchise. My favorite looking cover is probably the Miami Vice Dwyane Wade cover of 2K20 and also the 2K19 cover with LeBron was super sick too. Those two stick out in my head from a visual perspective.”

Considering 2K is the only major video game basketball franchise on the market today, it’ll be interesting to see who emerges as the cover athlete for next year’s game and if the artwork will be up there with the likes of Jordan, Bryant, James and Wade.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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