Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named cover athlete for NBA 2K26
After winning an NBA MVP, a Western Conference Finals MVP, an NBA championship trophy, and an NBA Finals MVP, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the cover athlete for the all new NBA 2K26, which launches this fall. NBA 2K made the news official on Tuesday afternoon.
The Thunder star joins a list of the biggest global NBA stars to be named a cover athlete:
Advertisement
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was the cover athlete for NBA 2K25.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was the cover athlete for NBA 2K24.
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was the cover athlete for NBA 2K23.
Los Angeles Lakers star (then-Dallas Mavericks star) Luka Doncic was the cover athlete for NBA 2K22.
Then-Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was the cover athlete for NBA 2K21.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's magical season
The Thunder's star guard finished NBA 2K25 with a 98 overall rating, tied with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the top overall rating.
Gilgeous-Alexander started the season as a 96 overall, which was the fourth-best rating in the game behind Jokic (97), Antetokounmpo (97), and Luka Doncic (97)
The 2024-25 season was a historic one for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder star was the league's leading scorer, averaging 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and a block per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three.
Advertisement
According to Stathead, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the only player in NBA history to average 32+ points, 5+ rebounds, 6+ assists, 1+ steal, and 1+ block per game over a season.
Earlier this week, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder reportedly agreed to terms on a four-year, $285 million contract extension.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now on the books for six years at approximately $346 million. According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Gilgeous-Alexander is set to earn around $63.52 million in the first year of the extension in 2027-28 and will earn around $78.77 million in the 2030-31 season.
That means Gilgeous-Alexander will earn nearly a million dollars per game played and will be 32 years of age at the end of the 2030-31 season, the final year on that deal.
Additionally, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Converse announced the SHAI 001's in February, and they're set to release this fall. The cover features Gilgeous-Alexander wearing his signature shoe.
Advertisement
Gilgeous-Alexander became the 11th player in NBA history to win both an NBA regular season MVP and an NBA Finals MVP in the same season.
In recent years, NBA 2K has released special edition covers with different cover athletes, like a 'Legends Edition' and a 'WNBA Edition.' While it remains to be seen who those cover athletes will be, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is confirmed as the first cover athlete for the NBA 2K26 video game.
Related: How long Jeanie Buss must remain governor after $10 billion sale
Related: Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander snubs LeBron James in all-time NBA 2K starting 5
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Reese Witherspoon Gets Candid About Balancing Her Career and Motherhood: ‘I'd Cry Working 14 to 17 Hours'
'Someone asked me what raising three kids and building a career in Hollywood looked like," the actress wrote on Instagram, while sharing a glimpse at it NEED TO KNOW Reese Witherspoon got candid about navigating motherhood in Hollywood, in an Instagram carousel on Thursday, Aug. 14 The actress confessed that although it was "challenging at times," being a mom showed her what is "important in life" She shares daughter Ava Phillippe, 25, and son Deacon Phillippe, 21, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and son Tennessee James Toth, 12, with her ex Jim Toth Reese Witherspoon is getting candid about how she balances motherhood with her career. The Oscar winner, 49, posted an Instagram carousel about parenting her children while navigating a successful career in Hollywood. The actress shares daughter Ava Phillippe, 25, and son Deacon Phillippe, 21, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and son Tennessee James Toth, 12, with her ex Jim Toth. In the Thursday, Aug. 14, Instagram post, the Big Little Lies actress began with a selfie posing with all three children. The text overlay read: 'Someone asked me what raising three kids and building a career in Hollywood looked like…' 'It looked like spending a lot of time in trailers together," she wrote on top of a selfie of her and Tennessee smiling in what appeared to be a trailer together. She continued sharing images of herself with each of her children, highlighting different and unusual elements of being a mother in Hollywood. Her next photo was a throwback selfie of her with Ava and Deacon in the back seat of a car. 'It looked like always being on the road together," The Morning Show actress wrote. She then shared a screenshot of a cheeky text between her and Ava, when her daughter informed her that she 'butt-dialed an Instagram live.' Witherspoon joked, 'It looked like my kids constantly giving me career advice!' The Oscar winner then confessed that 'it looked really hard sometimes.' 'I'd cry working 14 to 17 hours, sometimes all night long and still woke up early for carpool. I was deliriously tired,' she wrote. 'It looked like trying to say something positive about work when I got home at night. So my kids would know that my work was meaningful to me and could be fun!' As she capped off the post, she included a final throwback image with Ava, and wrote, 'In conclusion, even though it was challenging at times, having kids gave me perspective about what was important in life.' 'Nothing was better than getting to come home and hug them and hear about their day!' 'Grateful to stand alongside other moms in this beautiful, messy journey.💕,' she captioned the Instagram post. 'Tag the working mom who needs this. ☺️.' Witherspoon has been open about motherhood over the years. She said in a November 2021 InStyle interview with Gayle King that her kids are her "first, most important priority.' She added, "If I told you how much space in my brain they take up every day — do you even think they know, Gayle? I don't even think they know." The year prior, she told Drew Barrymore on her eponymous talk show, that although balancing motherhood with the demands of her career hasn't been easy, it has "truly worth it." "There's a lot of compromise ... You feel like that's what makes me wake up on a Sunday, it's not movies or my job, it's my kids," the actress said in the September 2020 interview. "Being a mom is really great, it's a big part of my life. I would say it's the biggest part of my life." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Phillies plan to use 6-man rotation with Aaron Nola's return from IL, says manager Rob Thomson
Aaron Nola is scheduled to be activated from the injured list and start for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. With Nola's return, manager Rob Thomson told reporters on Thursday that the Phillies will go with a six-man rotation for at least one turn. Jesús Luzardo started the series opener on Thursday with Zack Wheeler scheduled for Friday and Taijuan Walker — who Thomson said was the No. 6 starter — going on Saturday. After Nola starts on Sunday, the rest of the rotation will line up with Ranger Suárez starting against the Seattle Mariners on Monday, followed by Cristopher Sánchez on Tuesday. Thomson's decision might look smarter after Luzardo gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Nationals. Suárez has also struggled recently, allowing five or more runs in three of his past five starts. In Thomson's view, the starters' workload is wearing them down. "Just getting some of these guys some extra rest because we've been grinding on them pretty hard all year," Thomson said, via the Associated Press. "The one downside to it is you've got to take somebody out of your bullpen, so you're a little short there but we'll just have to figure it out." Philadelphia leads MLB with 687 1/3 innings from its starting pitchers. Sánchez tops Phillies starters with 150 2/3 innings, while Wheeler has logged 144 2/3 frames. After Thursday's start, Luzardo is at 139 innings, followed by Suárez with 112 1/3. Nola returning to the rotation should help relieve some of those innings. However, he may take a while before he can build up a higher workload. Nola hasn't pitched for the Phillies since May 14 after suffering a sprained right ankle that he initially tried to pitch through before going on the IL. That may be why he compiled a 6.16 ERA and 1-7 record before being sidelined. In his three rehab starts, Nola collected a 2.19 ERA in 12 1/3 innings with 17 strikeouts — including 11 in his final appearance. At 69-52, the Phillies go into the weekend with a five-game lead over the New York Mets (64-57) for first place in the NL East. The Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, 4-3.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
José Ramírez has 3 hits to help Guardians rally past Marlins, move closer to AL wild-card spot
CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez had three hits and scored three runs, Gabriel Arias had a pair of RBIs and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Miami Marlins 9-4 on Thursday night. The Guardians trailed 3-0 in the first and 4-3 in the fourth, but rallied for their 23rd win in 32 games and moved within one-half game of the idle New York Yankees for the final American League wild-card spot. Arias' sacrifice fly in a two-run fifth against Edward Cabrera (6-6) put Cleveland ahead for good at 5-4. David Fry and Brayan Rocchio both singled in runs in the seventh, when the Guardians scored four times off Valente Bellozo. Tanner Bibee (9-9) extended his winning streak to five by working 5 2/3 innings and giving up four runs (two earned). Cade Smith entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth and retired Liam Hicks for his sixth save. Augustin Ramírez had an RBI single in the first when Miami took a 3-0 lead. The other runs came in when Guardians catcher Austin Hedges dropped a throw at the plate, allowing Kyle Stowers and Ramírez to score. Marlins rookie Jakob Marsee, who had a team record-tying seven RBIs Tuesday, went 0 for 4. Cabrera gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Key moment Stowers was initially called out at the plate in the first, but the ball slipped out of Hedges' glove, prompting umpire Clint Vondrak to declare him safe. Key stat Ramírez moved past Kenny Lofton into third in franchise history with 977 runs. The seven-time All-Star has spent his entire 13-year career with Cleveland. Up next Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara (6-11, 6.55 ERA) starts Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Boston. Guardians: LHP Joey Cantillo (3-2, 4.11 ERA) pitches Friday as Cleveland hosts Atlanta. ___ AP MLB:
