NBA 2K26 has been properly revealed, but WNBA athlete Caitlin Clark has been snubbed from being the cover athlete of the game’s WNBA edition. Basketball has birthed so many legends over the decades from the likes of Michael Jordan to LeBron James. It’s a massive sport that fuels our culture with not only the game itself, but even the brands it facilitates such as shoes. Sports games have always leaned into this by featuring prominent athletes on their covers, typically after a notable season or years of success. It’s considered a pretty big honor to be featured on the cover of a sports games (or a curse in the case of Madden) and it also means a lot to fans.
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With that said, this week marked the proper reveal of NBA 2K26. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is featured on the standard edition cover of NBA 2K26 and Carmelo Anthony is on the game’s “Superstar Edition”. For the GameStop exclusive WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26, 2K selected Chicago Sky player Angel Reese to be the cover star. Reese is also prominently featured alongside SGA and Anthony on the cover of the $150 “Leave No Doubt” edition of NBA 2K26. The announcement comes a day after Reese smacked a clipboard out of a coach’s hand in a fit of rage near the end of the fourth quarter of a tied game, which led to some tension between the player and basketball fans.
NBA 2K26 Fans Are Furious That Angel Reese Is the Cover Star Instead of Caitlin Clark
With that said, Reese is a known rival to Indiana Pacers player Caitlin Clark. The two had heated match-ups when they played against each other in college basketball. Clark has gone on to be one of the most popular players in the league and is credited for drawing attention to the WNBA and increasing ticket sales, but alas, she isn’t featured on the cover of NBA 2K26. This has really upset some fans who believe Clark is more deserving of a spot on the cover.
Clark has been injured since June 24th and has missed a handful of games, but is expected to play again today, July 9th. Some have attributed her injury to why she wasn’t selected, but these kinds of decisions aren’t determined in a matter of a few weeks. You can see some fan reactions below.
These are the last two NBA 2K (WNBA Edition) video games covers…
I just can’t understand why they wouldn’t put the most impactful, transcendent & popular women’s basketball player of all time, Caitlin Clark on the cover…
It’s baffling how bad this marketing move is. pic.twitter.com/AcuxVkZpcC
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) July 9, 2025
This could go down as one of the worst 2k cover works ever. Firstly, how is Angel Reese getting a cover before Caitlin Clark is crazy work. Secondly, what did Melo do in his NBA career other than score and rebound? He didn’t win any titles. Yea he was on a few all-NBA teams… https://t.co/Dvac1X6HVF
— 🚌 (@GuthBus34) July 9, 2025
Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark is just another example of how 2K has fallen
— SUAREZ (@suayrez) July 9, 2025
NBA 2K26‘s standard edition will launch on current and last-gen hardware on September 5th, while players who pick up the Leave No Doubt edition get it on August 29th.