As Kobe Bryant's 20-year NBA career ends, publisher 2K Sports announced that the legendary L.A. Lakers player will grace the cover of the upcoming "NBA 2K17 Legend Edition." This will be the second time that Bryant will be gracing the game's cover, the first being in "NBA 2K10."
"NBA 2K17 Legend Edition" was officially announced via a Twitter post by 2K Sports last April 13. The special version will include several memorabilia of Bryant, both physical and digital.
Among the physical items are:
- A limited-edition Kobe poster
- Two Kobe Panini trading cards
- Black Mamba game controller skin
The digital items that will come along are:
- 30,000 virtual currency
- My TEAM Bundle, that includes three packs and guaranteed to contain a Kobe Free Agent card
- Kobe #8 Mitchell and Ness Jersey
- Kobe hoodie
2K added that there will be more to come.
Gamespot reported that the game will be available in physical and digital formats. However, gamers opting for the digital format will not receive the free physical freebies.
The standard version of "NBA 2K17" does not have any cover star at the moment but will be announced during the "NBA2k16" Road to Finals gaming tournament.
"NBA 2K17 Legend Edition" is scheduled for a September release and will be offered for US$80. Polygon added that the special edition will be made available for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The standard edition will be available for both consoles, plus the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.
Amazon is already taking pre-orders for the game, while Amazon Prime members can avail of a 20 percent discount, which brings the price down to US$64.
Bryant played his last professional basketball game last Wednesday night, April 13, against the Utah Jazz. The L.A. Lakers did not make it to the play-offs, thus it was also the last NBA game this season for the whole team. Bryant was able to down 60 points, not very bad for a last game, of the 101-96 final score.
