Parker, a WNBA MVP, will appear on a cover for a version of the game that will be available in North America. Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks will be on the cover for the standard edition and cross-gen digital bundle, while an edition commemorating the NBA’s 75th anniversary will feature Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant.
A Japan-only version will depict Rui Hachimura of the Washington Wizards on the cover. Hachimura became the first Japanese player drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, in 2019.
The version of the game that Parker’s image will appear on is a WNBA 25th Anniversary Special Edition. Parker released a statement after her cover was announced. She said, “Representation matters, so this is a special moment of progress for the sport and the series.”
“To be part of this historic cover is a testament to the growth and rising popularity of the women’s game, and I’m proud to be the first female cover athlete to be the face of NBA 2K,” she added.
Parker, 35, also shared the upcoming NBA 2K22 cover on Twitter. She wrote in the tweet that she is “[e]xtremely proud and humbled” by the honor and is “hopeful there will be many more badass females to follow.”
Parker is playing her 14th season and her first with the Sky after being a member of the Los Angeles Sparks from 2008 to 2020. She won a championship with Los Angeles in 2016, earning the WNBA Finals MVP award in the process, and has been an all-star in the league six times.
The WNBA 25th Anniversary Special Edition will reportedly only be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and it will not be sold outside North America. Players can choose among seven jerseys for MyPlayer characters in the WNBA career mode, The W, which was first introduced in NBA 2K21.
In addition to Parker’s jersey, players can choose jerseys from Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty; Jonquel Jones of the Connecticut Sun; Breanna Stewart of Seattle Storm; A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces; Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury; and Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks.
NBA 2K22 is scheduled to be released worldwide on September 10.
Update 07/14/21 11:35 a.m. EDT: This story has been updated to include more information about the upcoming versions of NBA 2K22.
