NBA 2K announced on Tuesday a multiyear partnership with New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson. Williamson has been the most buzzworthy rookie the NBA has seen in years. The partnership between Williamson and NBA 2K included a special announcement over social media and exclusive highlights from Williamson’s first appearance in the game.
Williamson joins a long list of current NBA players who have partnerships with the 2K franchise including LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant. New Los Angeles Laker (and former New Orleans Pelican) Anthony Davis was announced as the cover athlete in the franchise’s latest release, NBA 2K20. NBA 2K also announced that recently-retired NBA star Dwyane Wade was the cover athlete of the NBA 2K20 Legend Edition.
NBA 2K’s announcement was paired with an exclusive sit-down with Williamson talking about his hard work leading up to this point and what it is like to finally be in a video game. The interview followed the theme of “Welcome to the Next” for the game’s 2020 version.
Presenting Next Up Feat. @ZionWilliamson 🔥
Watch our newest Team 2K athlete talk about what’s next for him IRL and see exclusive in-game footage of what’s next for him in #NBA2K20 pic.twitter.com/FjQxi7LOcK
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 30, 2019
Zion Williamson’s NBA 2K rating
Shortly after the announcement, NBA 2K released Williamson’s overall rating as part of its promotion of the game and the first official screenshot of the New Orleans rookie. Williamson’s overall rating of 81 is tops among rookies in the NBA this year.
Williamson, the number one overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is the only rookie to earn a rating above 80. The former Duke star is followed by Ja Morant (79 overall), former teammate RJ Barrett (78), De’Andre Hunter (77), and Darius Garland (77).
The first ever official screen of ZI🤯N pic.twitter.com/j7ukgkrC1w
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 30, 2019
NBA 2K’s busy July
It has been a newsworthy month for the 2K franchise. In addition to the Williamson announcement, releasing star player ratings, and revealing the cover athletes, the gaming franchise announced the soundtrack for the 2K20 edition, but with a twist. NBA 2K posted that the soundtrack would be updated throughout the year with new songs. The current soundtrack already includes recognizable artists Drake, Post Malone, and J.Cole.
From the competitive scene, the NBA 2K League’s postseason began last week. The playoffs included two days of quarterfinal matchups and the semifinals last Friday. The NBA 2K League’s championship will be decided on Saturday when expansion team T-Wolves Gaming meets 76ers GC in the final. Viewers can catch the final on the league’s Twitch or YouTube Gaming channel starting at 3 p.m. ET.
2K fans can get their first looks at NBA 2K20 when the official demo goes live on Aug. 21.
Published: Jul 31, 2019 10:00 am