Victor Wembanyama is the new face of NBA2K27, and that decision says plenty about how the game’s cover spot gets decided.
On Wednesday morning, it was announced that the Spurs center will be the main cover athlete for the next edition of the video game. For plenty of players, that kind of recognition is the sort of thing they picture long before they ever reach the league.
Jalen Brunson was the name many expected to hear instead. He just led the Knicks to an NBA championship this past postseason and picked up NBA Finals MVP honors for his work. New York beat a talented and young Spurs team that had been chasing a historic playoff run after knocking off the Thunder in the WCF.
San Antonio made that series a fight. A lot of the NBA Finals games were close, but the Knicks handled the clutch moments better and won more of them, ending the Spurs’ bid for another title.
Even with that postseason success on Brunson’s side, Wembanyama got the nod for NBA2K27, and that raised eyebrows.
Recent playoff results have mattered in these cover selections before, but they are not the only thing that counts. The last two years back that up: after winning a title with the Celtics in 2024, Jayson Tatum landed the NBA2K25 cover, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got the NBA2K26 honor after winning NBA Finals MVP with the Thunder in 2025.
Wembanyama’s global profile likely helped too. He has quickly become one of the league’s biggest faces in only his first few seasons, and the numbers show the reach. He has 6.2 million Instagram followers, while Brunson has 2 million.
He also had the stronger regular season overall and drew far more MVP votes than Brunson.
So while the case for Brunson is a fair one, this probably won’t be his last shot at the cover. He’ll be in the mix with players like Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards in the seasons ahead.
In Other News...
Adam Silver Just Put The Knicks Title Window Under Pressure
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Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns sit at the center of that squeeze, with the Knicks trying to map out how long this group can stay intact without triggering the kind of penalties that force painful choices. The front office may be able to keep the window open only by asking for sacrifices somewhere, whether that means contract flexibility, roster reshuffling, or losing a useful piece along the way. The challenge is not just building a contender in the present, but finding a way to avoid the cap trap that could make the next round of decisions even tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Andre Drummond Already Sounds Like A Knick Defending Captain Brunson
Andre Drummond is barely into his Knicks tenure and already sounds like he understands the room he walked into. Signed to fill the backup center role left by Mitchell Robinson, Drummond brings a different look to New Yorks frontcourt, with his calling card still centered on offensive rebounding and physical work around the basket.
The fit, though, comes with the usual tradeoffs. Robinsons touch near the rim has long been a strength for the Knicks, while Drummonds value has more often come from extra possessions than finishing efficiency, so the comparison is not a simple one-for-one swap. Even so, Drummond has already shown a willingness to publicly back Jalen Brunson in the kind of way that tends to play well with a fan base that has embraced its captain. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Fans Finally Got The Brunson Update They Needed
Jalen Brunsons offseason has already taken a turn that matters to the Knicks, even in the wake of the championship celebration. The guard had surgery on his left wrist shortly after the title run ended, and any time a lead ballhandler is dealing with a hand or wrist issue, the early stages of recovery tend to draw extra attention from a team that will lean on him heavily again.
There is reason for optimism around Brunsons path back, especially with the way similar offseason injuries can go in the NBA. The comparison to Jalen Williams serves as a reminder that these situations can become tricky if the recovery stalls, but so far Brunsons outlook appears to be the more encouraging one, which is exactly the kind of update Knicks fans were waiting to hear. [Read more 🡒]