Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard announced as first cover athlete for NBA 2K21

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Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has officially been announced as one of the cover athletes for NBA 2K21.

Game developer 2K announced today that Lillard would be one of three players featured on the cover of the upcoming release of the game, with the other two yet-to-be-named players to grace the covers of the next-generation version and Legends edition of the game.

"It's one of those things that's like a signature shoe - everybody just don't get it," Lillard told Stadium’s Shams Charania. "To be able to join the lineup of players that have been on the cover of 2K, it's an honor." 

Lillard, a five-time All-Star is the first Trail Blazers player to appear on the cover of a 2K game.

"It's an honour...every time I come across a game that is my favourite year of a game, the way that you recognise it is by, you know, AI was on that cover or Kobe was on that cover,” Lillard added.

“Just to join that group and have that honor, man, it’s cool. Real cool,”

Allen Iverson graced the cover of the game between 1999-2004, while Kobe Bryant appeared on the cover of the 2010 version of the game.

Prior to the NBA season suspension on March 11, Lillard was playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, averaging a career-high 28.9 points and 7.8 assists per game.

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Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.