EA Sports revealed the latest athlete to grace the cover of the "NBA Live" video game series on Thursday. After playing one of the best seasons of his career and being a strong contender for the league's Most Valuable Player award, James Harden was selected to be the cover athlete for the upcoming "NBA Live 18."
The game developer also revealed the cover art of the game, showing a street photo and a league photo of Harden side by side.
The design of the game's cover art is a reflection of the new mode in the game called "The One." This mode will challenge players to build their reputation and skills as a basketball player both on the streets and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) league.
"When I heard about working with EA Sports and being the cover athlete of NBA Live 18 I was pretty excited for the opportunity," said Harden, according to PlayStation Lifestyle. "'NBA Live 18' is all about creating your own identity and making your mark on the league, and I can definitely relate to that. If anybody knows about creativity it's me."
The Houston Rockets star had a career season during his 2016–17 run, averaging 29.1 points, 11.2 assists, and 8.1 rebounds per game, all of which are career highs. He led his team to the third seed in the western conference, and took them to the playoffs before being eliminated by Texas rival San Antonio Spurs in the second round.
Harden finished the season second place in the league MVP voting behind former teammate Russell Westbrook, who broke NBA records and averaged a triple double for the entire season. He will be replacing Westbrook as the face of the "NBA Live franchise." Westbrook was the cover athlete for the "NBA Live 16" and "NBA Live mobile."
"NBA Live 18" will be released on Sept. 15 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
