NBA 2K21 Mamba Forever Edition to feature Kobe Bryant as cover star

NBA 2K21 will honour Kobe Bryant by making him the cover star of the Mamba Forever Edition, publisher 2K has confirmed.

In a press release, 2K said:

For NBA 2K21, Legend Edition is replaced by the Mamba Forever Edition, celebrating Kobe Bryant’s lifelong pursuit of victory and legacy in the sport of basketball.

For many fans, Kobe’s achievements on the court and love for the game had tremendous impact around the world and his list of awards and accolades is intensive: five-time NBA champion, 18-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, 2008 NBA MVP, 11-time All-NBA First Team, 9-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, two-time NBA Scoring Champion, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist, the all-time leading scorer for the Los Angeles Lakers and much more.

While Zion Williamson will feature on the cover of next-gen standard editions of the game, and Damian Lillard on current-gen standard editions, two variations of Bryant will feature on current- and next-gen Mamba Forever editions, shown below.

Bryant and his daughter Gianna passed away earlier this year in a helicopter crash, a tragedy that claimed the lives of seven others.

NBA 2K21 heads to PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia and Windows PC on September 4; followed by a PS5 and Xbox Series X release.

​