Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant will grace the cover of NBA ELITE 11, the EA SPORTS video game formerly known as NBA LIVE.
An action shot of Durant dribbling while donning a white Thunder jersey appears on the cover of the game. It is the second time in Durant’s career that he’s been featured as a cover athlete for a mainstream video game.
He appeared on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08 as well, sporting his Texas Longhorns’ No. 35 jersey. Durant becomes only the third player in EA SPORTS history to be featured on an NCAA and an NBA licensed product.
“I’ve always been a fan of EA Sports,” Durant said in a release. “This has been an exciting year for me and the team, and capping it off with being on the cover of NBA ELITE 11 is cool.”
In 2009-10, Durant led the OKC Thunder on an NBA-best 27-game improvement. Oklahoma City went 50-32 and earned a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2005 when the franchise was located in Seattle.
Durant also became the league’s youngest player to ever win the scoring title after averaging 30.1 points while playing all 82 games. Durant was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his three-year career in 2009-10 as well.
“Durant is a game-changer,” said EA SPORTS Vice President of Marketing Jordan Edelstein in a release. “There has never been a player with his size, with his skill set, and there has never before been a basketball video game like NBA ELITE.”
NBA ELITE 11 is still in development, but will be available worldwide in October.
