This spring, Syracuse basketball legend Carmelo Anthony was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Perhaps he should also reside in the Hall of Fame for video games, if there is such a thing (I checked – there is something called the World Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y.).
All kidding aside, word broke this week that Anthony will don the cover of NBA 2K26 for the video game’s Superstar Edition, according to a press release and various media reports. A huge congrats to Melo!
The global launch of NBA 2K26 is set for September 5 of this year. Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the regular-season MVP, NBA Finals MVP and the world title during the 2042-25 campaign, will be on the cover of the NBA 2K26 Standard Edition.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, who won a national championship at LSU, will be on the cover of the video game’s WNBA Edition. Per the official announcement, Reese, Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony will also share the cover of the NBA 2K26 Leave No Doubt Edition.
“For more than 20 years, 2K fans have been a part of my journey,” Anthony said in the statement. “Being honored on the cover of NBA 2K26 and inducted into the Hall of Fame in the same year is surreal. It’s a celebration of every chapter, every city that embraced me, every team that believed in me, and every person who’s been part of this ride with me.”
NBA 2K26 is developed by 2K, a company that is based in Novato, Calif., near San Francisco.
Carmelo Anthony will now have been on four video-game covers.
According to the Instagram page of the NBA on ESPN, Anthony has completed the basketball video-game cycle, so to speak. Besides his latest cover, he has also been front and center on EA Sports’ NCAA March Madness 2004, EA Sports’ NBA Live 2005 and EA Sports’ NBA Street Homecourt 2007. That’s impressive.
Anthony, a 6-foot-8 forward, retired from the NBA after a stellar 19-year career in the league back in May of 2023. Earlier this year, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2025.
As a pro, Melo made 10 All-Star appearances and six All-NBA teams, and he won three Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball. Currently, Melo is No. 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Of course, ‘Cuse fans likely best remember Anthony for his All-American freshman season on the Hill, as he led Syracuse basketball to a 30-5 overall record and claimed the program’s only national championship at the end of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
Melo’s son, 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, is an incoming freshman for the Orange.
