Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on NBA 2K26 cover following his historic MVP season

The magical summer of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues with another prestigious honor. After winning his first MVP award, the NBA championship and Finals MVP trophy, the Oklahoma City Thunder star was announced Tuesday as the cover athlete for the standard edition of NBA 2K26.

The generational run continues ⚡

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is your #NBA2K26 Standard Edition Cover Athlete!

Pre-order NBA 2K26 starting tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/1pQTtWOUh2

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 8, 2025

Clutch performances that marked the playoffs

This announcement comes just a week after Gilgeous-Alexander signed a four-year, $285 million maximum contract extension, keeping him with the Thunder through the 2030-2031 season. At 26, the Canadian player delivered one of the best individual seasons in NBA history.

His stats speak for themselves: averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.0 rebounds, along with 1.7 steals and 1 block per game. With shooting percentages of 51.9% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range, Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City to a record of 68 wins and 14 losses, the league’s best record.

The Thunder dominated opponents with an average margin of 12.9 points per game, the highest mark in NBA history. This regular season dominance continued into the playoffs, where Gilgeous-Alexander shined in crucial moments.

The Thunder’s point guard proved decisive during the most important moments of the postseason. He scored 35 points in the Game 7 victory against the Denver Nuggets in the second round, before recording a double-double with 29 points and 12 assists, plus 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.

This final performance helped the Thunder secure their first title, and made Gilgeous-Alexander the first player from the franchise to get a solo NBA 2K cover since Kevin Durant on NBA 2K15. Durant had also shared the NBA 2K13 cover and was featured on NBA Elite 11.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the 2nd OKC Thunder cover athlete for NBA2K!

Kevin Durant was the cover athlete of 2K15 and the unreleased NBA Elite 11, which sells for $10K+

Russell Westbrook was the cover athlete of NBA Live 16 pic.twitter.com/044dG9HTOy

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 8, 2025

NBA 2K continues its tradition of featuring new champions, after choosing Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics for NBA 2K25. NBA 2K26 is expected to release in September, though no official date has been announced yet.