When did NBA 2K decide Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be the next cover athlete?

After one of the greatest individual seasons the NBA has ever witnessed, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to enjoy an award-rich offseason. He carried the Oklahoma City Thunder to the finish line with a championship ring to cap off one of the best one-year runs.

Gilgeous-Alexander won about every award imaginable. From MVP to NBA Finals MVP to a scoring title. After knocking on the door of greatness for the last couple of seasons, he was finally invited in, as this past season rivaled the peaks of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

That made NBA 2K's decision to make Gilgeous-Alexander the NBA 2K26 cover athlete easy. While the video game cover might not be as prestigious as the league's top awards, it's still an honor that only the top names are donned with.

Considering the Thunder had one of the greatest seasons ever and brought home the Larry O'Brien trophy, expect Gilgeous-Alexander to usurp the SGA acronym from student governments in the public stratosphere. In other words, he's now a household name.

In an exclusive interview with Thunder Wire, Ronnie 2K said it only took a couple of months into the 2024-25 regular season to figure out that Gilgeous-Alexander was likely the face of the upcoming NBA 2K26 video game.

"Ultimately, it starts with the work on the court and like the performance. By Christmas time, it was clear that he was head and shoulders above the rest of the league in terms of our consideration," Ronnie 2K said. "It became obvious that it was time to coordinate him. He is such a big fan. He will remind me all the time about his play in the park, wanting to do this, wanting to be a big part of it, wanting to work on all the elements in the game."

That makes sense. By Christmas, the Thunder have started to run away with the first seed. They had a 23-5 record. Gilgeous-Alexander made some MVP buzz from the first game of the season to the last. After some drama, he eventually ran away with the award in the final weeks.

After being teased as somebody who could be an NBA 2K cover athlete down the line, Gilgeous-Alexander ensured that happened in the video game's following edition. Even Ronnie 2K was taken by surprise a little bit by his skyrocket ascension to the league's best.

"He's got his handprints all over 2K26. I'm happy to discuss that," Ronnie 2K said. "But really, just what a great partner to be on our cover, especially with all the success he had this past year."

Now, Gilgeous-Alexander gets to enjoy another accolade in what's turned out to be the Summer of SGA. Being in the cover of NBA 2K is the dream of every player. It designates them as somebody who every NBA fan should know about. The accolades have piled on for him.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: When did NBA 2K decide Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be on cover?