Monday Tip-Off: Assorted Cover Player Trivia

We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some assorted cover player trivia.

I’m sure that it’s apparent from my various features, as well as comments I’ve made on the NLSC Podcast, that I really enjoy trivia about my passions. I love discovering new “fun facts” about my favourite hobbies and interests, and of course, discussing them in the content that I create. Of course, the downside of being passionate about trivia is that it’s easy to come off as a know-it-all, or a bore. Still, I imagine that if you’re here to consume content about basketball video games, you enjoy these facts as well! It’s always my aim to share something that hopefully not everyone will know.

So, cover player trivia. It seems only appropriate, since in the grand scheme of things, there aren’t too many aspects of basketball video games that are as trivial as the cover player! The face of the game doesn’t necessarily indicate its quality, and there have been some out-of-the-box choices on the front of the box throughout the years. It’s still a point of interest, of course. We admire creative cover art, and while it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) impact our enjoyment of a game, we also appreciate a worthy cover player. With so many basketball games and a multitude of players appearing on their covers, there’s some interesting trivia we can dive into as we tip off another week.

Fewest Games Before Becoming A Cover Player

• Raul Lopez (0 Games)
• Yuta Tabuse (4 Games)
• Zion Williamson (24 Games)
• Keith Van Horn (62 Games)
• Ben Simmons (81 Games)
• Carmelo Anthony (82 Games)

Much as magazines use celebrities on their covers to sell copies, basketball games usually feature a popular player; often established All-Stars, but also promising young guns that are rising up through the ranks. Excluding the college titles – whose cover players are always rookies – the record for fewest NBA games before appearing on a cover belongs to Raul Lopez, who graced the Spanish cover of NBA Live 2004 as a rookie. Speaking of international covers, Yuta Tabuse was the face of the Japanese version of NBA Live 06, despite only ever playing four NBA games, and being out of the league. Carmelo Anthony appeared on NBA Live 2005’s cover as a sophomore.

Melo had at least played a full NBA season and appeared in the Playoffs by that point. He’d also been the cover player of NCAA March Madness 2004. Ben Simmons also played 81 games and appeared in the postseason before appearing on the Australian cover of NBA 2K19. Keith Van Horn’s 62 games (plus three Playoff games) was an even briefer stint before appearing on the cover of NBA Jam 99. As far as All-Stars and primary cover players are concerned, Zion Williamson had played just 24 games before becoming the face of NBA 2K21 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. As of the 2023 season, Zion has played in just one more career game than Raul Lopez!

Cover Players Who Played The Least Games

• Yuta Tabuse (4 Games)
• Raul Lopez (113 Games)
• Arvydas Sabonis (470 Games)
• Andrea Bargnani (550 Games)
• Gilbert Arenas (552 Games)
• Keith Van Horn (575 Games)
• Steve Francis (576 Games)

Once again, I’m only counting the covers of NBA video games, as well as players whose careers are officially over. With that being said, which cover players had the shortest careers? A few names from the previous list reappear here, with Yuta Tabuse and Raul Lopez being the extreme examples with four and 113 career regular season games respectively. Keith Van Horn ended up having a relatively short career, playing in 575 games. However, there are some cover players who tallied even fewer games in the NBA! Arvydas Sabonis, a latecomer to the NBA, played in just 470 games. He appeared on a special edition cover of NBA Live 2001 in his native Lithuania.

Likewise, Andrea Bargnani was the Italian cover player for NBA Live 08 and 09, and has just 550 games under his belt. Speaking of NBA Live 08, Gilbert Arenas has the fewest career games of any American-born cover player with 552. Steve Francis, the face of NBA Live 2002, is the only other retired cover player with fewer than 600 games played (576 to be precise). Incidentally, after that, Chris Webber (NBA Jam 2000, NBA ShootOut 2001) has the fewest games with 831. Among active players, Zion Williamson has the fewest with 114, followed by Ben Simmons (NBA 2K19, 317), Luka Doncic (NBA 2K22, 330), and Devin Booker (NBA 2K23, 530).

Players On Both EA & 2K Covers

• Michael Jordan: Jordan vs. Bird, Team USA Basketball, Michael Jordan in Flight, Chaos in the Windy City, NBA Live 2000 (Insert), NBA Street (Japan), NBA Live 2002 (Japan), NBA Street Vol. 2, NBA 2K11, NBA 2K12, NBA 2K16, NBA 2K23)
• Shaquille O’Neal: NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA 2K18
• Kyrie Irving: NBA Live 14, NBA 2K18
• James Harden: NBA 2K16, NBA Live 18
• Damian Lillard: NBA 2K15, NBA 2K21
• Dwyane Wade: NBA Live 06, NBA 2K20
• Kevin Durant: NCAA March Madness 08, NBA Elite 11 (Cancelled), NBA 2K13, NBA 2K15
• Pau Gasol: NBA Live 2005-10, NBA 2K16-17 (in Spain)
• Kevin Garnett: NBA Live 2001, NBA 2K9
• Magic Johnson: Team USA Basketball, NBA 2K12
• Larry Bird: Dr. J vs Bird, Jordan vs. Bird, Team USA Basketball, NBA 2K12
• LeBron James: NBA Street Showdown, NBA 2K14, NBA 2K19
• Dirk Nowitzki: NBA Live 07 (Germany), NBA 2K22

The longevity of NBA Live and NBA 2K has resulted in players appearing on the covers of both series. When we include other EA and 2K titles, we can add a few more names to the list. To highlight a few potentially forgotten examples, LeBron James appeared on the cover of NBA Street Showdown, the PlayStation Portable version of NBA Street V3. Kevin Durant was of course the cover player for the ill-fated NBA Elite 11, while Magic Johnson appeared on the cover of Team USA Basketball in addition to having his own NBA 2K12 cover. Larry Bird also appeared on those two covers, and was obviously the co-star of Jordan vs. Bird: One on One.

Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal also had exclusive contracts with EA Sports at one point. In addition to appearing exclusively in the NBA Playoffs/NBA Live series, they had their own spinoff games. His Airness appeared in Michael Jordan in Flight, as well as the platformer Chaos in the Windy City. The Big Diesel, meanwhile, was set to star in his own game for Sega Genesis: Slam – Shaq vs. The Legends. The game was cancelled, but a prototype was later leaked, and is playable via emulator. As an extra bit of cover player trivia, Dwyane Wade was apparently set to become the first repeat cover player for NBA Live with NBA Live 13, but it was ultimately cancelled.

Players On College & NBA Covers

• Kevin Durant: NCAA March Madness 08, NBA Elite 11 (Cancelled), NBA 2K13, NBA 2K15
• Tim Duncan: NCAA March Madness 98, NBA Live 2000
• Steve Francis: NCAA March Madness 2000, NBA Live 2002
• Blake Griffin: NCAA Basketball 10, NBA 2K13
• Carmelo Anthony: (NCAA March Madness 2004, NBA Live 2005

College basketball titles allowed players that wouldn’t normally grace covers to be the face of a game. Some of them still went on to have successful pro careers, but weren’t ever big enough names to be a cover player for NBA Live, NBA 2K, or any other NBA titles. However, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin, Steve Francis, and Carmelo Anthony, have all appeared on covers for NCAA and NBA video games; in Kevin Durant’s case, multiple NBA titles! Also, though Adam Morrison didn’t appear on the covers of any NBA games after being the face of NCAA March Madness 07, he was prominently featured in promotional materials for NBA Live 07 as a rookie.

Cover Players Who Made the NBA Finals in the Same Season

Winners

• Dwyane Wade: NBA Live 06
• Shaquille O’Neal: NBA 2K6
• Kobe Bryant: NBA Courtside 2, NBA Courtside 2002, NBA 2K10
• Pau Gasol: NBA Live 09, NBA Live 10
• Anthony Davis: NBA 2K20
• Tony Parker: NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 07
• Toni Kukoc: NBA ShootOut ’97

Runners-Up

 Shaquille O’Neal: NBA Inside Drive 2004

• Pau Gasol: NBA Live 08
• LeBron James: NBA 2K14
• Stephen Curry: NBA 2K16
• Allen Iverson: NBA 2K1
• Jason Kidd: NBA Live 2003
• Ben Wallace: ESPN NBA 2K5

That brings us to the players that made the NBA Finals in the same season, and those among them that also won the championship. The first was technically Toni Kukoc, as the alternate cover player for NBA ShootOut ’97. If we’re talking primary cover players though, Kobe Bryant was the first, when he won his first ring in 2000 while also being the face of NBA Courtside 2. Kobe’s third and fifth rings also came in years when he was a cover player (NBA Courtside 2002, NBA 2K10). Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal won a title as teammates while appearing on the covers of NBA Live 06 and NBA 2K6. Wade was also the first cover player to win the Finals MVP.

Anthony Davis (NBA 2K20) is the most recent example. Since we’re including the international covers, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol also won rings the same year they were the face of a game. Gasol was also a cover player as a runner-up in the Finals, as were LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, and Ben Wallace, though LeBron, Curry, and Big Ben were all champions the previous season. Note that I’ve excluded some players who appeared on covers via action/group shots, such as Hakeem Olajuwon (NBA Live 95) and Michael Jordan (Team USA Basketball), as well as players in the collages featured on the alternate covers of Sony’s NBA series.

Players on the Covers of Non-NBA & NCAA Games

• Shaquille O’Neal: Shaq Fu
• Michael Jordan: Michael Jordan in Flight, Space Jam, Chaos in the Windy City, Jordan vs. Bird
• David Robinson: David Robinson’s Supreme Court
• Charles Barkley: Barkley Shut Up & Jam!
• Amar’e Stoudemire: Street Hoops
• Larry Bird: Dr. J vs Larry Bird, Jordan vs. Bird
• Julius Erving: Dr. J vs Larry Bird
• Kevin Garnett: Backyard Basketball 2001
• Tim Duncan: Backyard Basketball 2004
• Paul Pierce: Backyard Basketball 2007
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Slam ‘N Jam 96
• Magic Johnson: Slam ‘N Jam 96

From NBA Jam clones (Barkley Shut Up & Jam!), to the basketball equivalent of celebrity vehicles (Michael Jordan in Flight, Space Jam, David Robinson’s Supreme Court), to games that are just “basketball adjacent” (Shaq Fu, Chaos in the Windy City), NBA players have lent their likenesses to non-NBA and NCAA titles. While the Backyard Basketball titles do use NBA branding, they’re not NBA games as such, so I’ll count them here as well. Most of these games are mediocre at best, which is unfortunate as it sometimes kept those players out of better titles. Nevertheless, it’s cover player trivia worth noting, and some of those games are still fun to check out.

Most Cover Appearances

• Michael Jordan: 13 (Jordan vs. Bird, Team USA Basketball, Michael Jordan in Flight, Chaos in the Windy City, Space Jam, NBA Live 2000, NBA Street (Japan), NBA Street Vol. 2, NBA Live 2002, NBA 2K11, NBA 2K12, NBA 2K16, NBA 2K23)
• Kobe Bryant: 10 (NBA Action 98, Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside, NBA Courtside 2, NBA Courtside 2002, NBA 07, NBA 09, NBA 2K10, NBA 2K17, NBA 2K21, NBA 2K24)
• Shaquille O’Neal: 9 (Shaq Fu, NBA Live 96, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, NBA Inside Drive 2004, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA 2K18, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn)
• Pau Gasol: 7 (NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, NBA Live 08, NBA Live 09, NBA Live 10, NBA 2K16, NBA 2K17 (all Spain))
• Allen Iverson: 6 (NBA 2K, NBA 2K1, NBA 2K2, NBA 2K3, ESPN NBA Basketball, NBA 08)
• Tony Parker: 6 (NBA Live 2005, NBA Live 06, NBA Live 07, NBA Live 08, NBA 2K16 (all in France), NBA Live 09)
• Scottie Pippen: 6 (Bulls vs. Lakers, Bulls vs. Blazers, Team USA Basketball, NBA Showdown (SNES), Slam City with Scottie Pippen, NBA Fastbreak ’98)

This time, I’m counting all significant appearances, including solo covers, shared covers, action shots, inserts, and collages! I’m also including non-NBA games, and “basketball adjacent” titles featuring NBA players. That brings us to one of the most ironic bits of cover player trivia. Despite his frequent absences from basketball video games, Michael Jordan’s thirteen identifiable covers are the most of any player! He’s followed by Kobe Bryant with ten, and Shaquille O’Neal with nine. Pau Gasol and Tony Parker’s frequent appearances on international covers also rank them among the most appearances, as does Allen Iverson’s long stint as the face of the NBA 2K series.

Scottie Pippen has a surprising six appearances as well, though most of them are as part of a group, or being the focus of an action shot. For the record, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett have been on five covers to date. Dwyane Wade has appeared on the covers of four games, and had NBA Live 13 not been cancelled, he would’ve had five as well. Kevin Durant, Tracy McGrady, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson, have been on four covers. Over 30 players have appeared on the covers of at least two basketball or basketball-related video games. There have also been several one-time cover players, proving that the door is always open for new names to become the face of a game!

Miscellaneous Cover Player Trivia

What other cover player trivia can I share? How about these fun facts!

• 23 NBA Live cover players and 21 NBA 2K cover players (including regional covers and cancelled games) have changed teams after those appearances.
• Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Joel Embiid, Dirk Nowitzki, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, are the only NBA Live/NBA 2K cover players to have never changed teams at any point in their careers (outside originally being traded on Draft day in a couple of cases).
• Kyrie Irving, Stephon Marbury, Glen Rice, and Ray Allen, were all traded the same year they appeared on a cover. In the case of Marbury and Irving, they were traded before their games were even released! Both of their games (NBA ShootOut 2002 and NBA 2K18) had updated covers for their second run of copies. There were likewise two Glen Rice covers for NBA in the Zone 99 – one with the Hornets, one with the Lakers – a year after he appeared on the NBA in the Zone 98 cover.
• Anthony Davis was also still technically a Pelican when he was announced as the cover player for NBA 2K20, though a trade to the Lakers was already in the works. As such, he sports a generic jersey on the cover.
• The cover players of NBA Live 2004 (Vince Carter), NBA Inside Drive 2004 (Shaquille O’Neal), and NBA ShootOut 2004 (Tracy McGrady), all joined new teams in the following offseason.
• In addition to NBA ShootOut and NBA ShootOut ’97 being renamed to Total NBA ’96 and Total NBA ’97 in PAL regions, their cover players – Sam Cassell and Eddie Jones respectively – were replaced with generic basketball artwork. Total NBA 98 kept Hakeem Olajuwon on the cover when it was renamed from NBA ShootOut 98.
• Alonzo Mourning and Tracy McGrady appeared on the NTSC covers of ESPN NBA 2Night and ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 respectively. In PAL regions, they were replaced by a collage of players (neither of which they were a part of).
• NCAA March Madness 06 and College Hoops 2K6 mark the only time that the college games from EA Sports and Visual Concepts both featured a player from the same school, namely North Carolina’s Raymond Felton and Marvin Williams respectively. Former UNC coach Roy Williams also appeared on the College Hoops 2K6 cover.
• Jeff Sheppard, the cover player of Fox Sports College Hoops ’99, played only 18 games in the NBA after going undrafted out of Kentucky. Due to being cut and later re-signed by the Atlanta Hawks, he isn’t in the roster updates for NBA Live 99 PC, and therefore has no official NBA video game appearances.

I think that’s enough cover player trivia for one Monday! To the best of my research, all of this information is accurate as of the time this article was published. Obviously, some of those figures are prone to change as future games are released, and history suggests that more cover players will end up changing teams before their careers are over! I’m sure that I’ll be able to follow up with some more cover player trivia at a later date, and of course, post any corrections as necessary. In the meantime, I hope these have been some fun facts to tip off your week! They’re certainly not the most important aspect of basketball video games, but covers still produce interesting trivia.

The post Monday Tip-Off: Assorted Cover Player Trivia appeared first on NLSC.