And that's not to be taken as a slight towards the NBA 2K brand, nor Zion, but year on year Portalnd's Damian Lillard has proven his credentials as one of the league's most important KPPs as well as an ambassador for the game in his articulation of its nuances, tribulations and triumphs. And now, he graces the cover of NBA 2K21 alongside the aforementioned Zion and the late Kobe Bryant.

That Lillard has been consistent for so long but overlooked in a league sporting the likes of King James, KD, Steph, The Beard, The Brow and The Greek Freak is *kind of* understandable, but here we are with a rookie in Zion who has a collectible 2019 Prizm Rookie card currently worth in excess of $1K... and now he's a cover athlete for NBA 2K21. The sports world works in mysterious way...

On the cover of the current-generation version of NBA 2K21 is five-time NBA All-Star and Portland Trail Blazers' standout Damian Lillard. Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans forward, 2019 1st Overall Pick and consensus 2019 National College Player of the Year, lands the cover for the PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X version. Finally, NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s lifetime achievement of basketball excellence is celebrated in the Mamba Forever Edition.

NBA 2K21 will be available on current-generation platforms on September 4, 2020 and is available for pre-order today; it will also be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as a launch title this holiday. With extensive improvements upon its best-in-class graphics and gameplay, competitive and community online features and deep, varied game modes, NBA 2K21 offers one-of-a-kind immersion into all facets of NBA basketball and culture – where Everything is Game.

And in support of my boy Lillard making the cover (even though I'm a legit Heat fan), here's a trailer highlighting his inclusion to the upper echelon of "made it".