Last week, the cover stars for the popular NBA 2K game were revealed. While there was no issue with 2025 NBA MVP and Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being the standard edition cover athlete, some questioned 2K’s choice of Angel Reese as the WNBA edition cover athlete.

They say it should have been Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who is arguably the biggest draw in the women’s game today. However, NBA 2K general manager Zak Armitage explained to TMZ why they picked Reese over her rival.

“NBA 2K26 is celebrating the bold, the confident and the visionaries, and WNBA All-Star Angel Reese carries all that on and off the court,” said Armitage. “In her sophomore year in the WNBA, Angel Reese has made waves, created impactful conversations, and inspired the next generation. She’s a storyteller and has helped the WNBA grow its audience.”

A strong presence on and off the court

The 23-year-old Reese recently became the fastest WNBA player to score 700+ points and grab 700+ rebounds, and also the quickest to 40 double-doubles.

Aside from her presence in games, Reese also has a weekly podcast called “Unapologetically Angel,” which she launched last September and now has over 140K subscribers. She also has a very strong presence on social media, with a total of 5 million Instagram followers.

Although many agree that Clark is the face of the WNBA, Reese has constantly challenged the notion that the women’s game has grown exponentially because of one player only. Last year, Angel boldly claimed that people watch the WNBA because of her as well.

Reese joins an elite list of WNBA stars who have graced the iconic 2K cover. Candace Parker was the first on the WNBA 25th anniversary edition in 2022. Meanwhile, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi were the co-covers for 2K23. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu was the 2K24 cover, while the most recent one was Las Vegas Aces star and 2024 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson.

Knocking two birds with one stone

The 2K cover was one of two milestones that Angel accomplished last week. The other one was the launch of her signature shoe, the Reebok Angel Reese 1, which she brilliantly wore on the video game cover. Ionescu noticed that and praised Reese for celebrating her two achievements in one photo.

“It was amazing, and she also launched her signature shoe on the cover as well, which was iconic. I feel like it was knocking two birds with one stone and just having this amazing moment to showcase to the world a shoe that she’s been working on for a really long time, and also an elite company with signature shoes. Like, I think that has been amazing to see more and more women getting their signature shoes, and obviously, she’s well-deserved of that. And then being able to be on that cover, knowing the significance and the importance of how cool it is to be on the cover of 2K, like, video games are played worldwide,” said Ionescu.

It has been an excellent month for Angel. She opened it with the Player of the Week award. She also earned her second straight All-Star selection, and she has been playing great as of late, averaging 18.0 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in July.

You can add the new shoe and 2K cover to those, and the Bayou Barbie is on a roll right now.