Kobe Bryant NBA 2K21 special 'Mamba Forever' edition and cover art unveiled

NBA 2K21 honoured late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant by featuring him on their third cover and releasing a NBA 2K21 Mamba Forever edition. The Kobe Bryant NBA 2K21 Mamba forever edition was announced on Thursday along with the Kobe Bryant NBA 2K21 cover and will retail for $100. Kobe Byrant, his daughter Gianna and seven other passed away in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26. 

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Kobe Bryant NBA 2K21 Mamba forever edition: NBA 2K21 release Kobe Bryant NBA 2K21 cover and special NBA 2K21 Mamba Forever edition

2️⃣4️⃣ Legend. Leader. Champion. We honor Kobe Bryant as our Cover Athlete for the Next Gen Mamba Forever Edition 💜💛 #NBA2K21 pic.twitter.com/OOONVibhvX

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K)

8️⃣ Relentless. Driven. A true competitor. We celebrate Kobe Bryant as our Cover Athlete for the Current Gen Mamba Forever Edition 🐍 #NBA2K21 pic.twitter.com/1wfH4kTPPN

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K)

Also read | Zion Williamson delighted on being revealed as second NBA 2K21 cover athlete

NBA 2K21 Kobe edition: NBA 2K21 honours Kobe Bryant with Next Gen Mamba Forever Edition and cover art

The late Kobe Bryant is the third athlete to feature on the NBA 2K21 cover along with Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and New Orleans Pelicans star rookie Zion Williamson. While Bryant gets his own Mamba Forever edition, Lillard's cover will feature as the current generation cover athlete and appear on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 editions of the game. Zion Williamson, who is the next-gen cover athlete, will feature on the PS5 and Xbox Series X editions.

Bryant's 'Mamba Forever' special edition of the game was unveiled with multiple pieces of his artwork. The Mamba Forever special edition will retail for $100 is now available for pre-order and can be played with current and next-gen consoles.  The covers for the current console will feature Bryant wearing his No. 8 jersey which he wore in the first half of his career and the next-gen covers will have his No. 24 jersey which he wore in the second half.

As per 2K Sports, the Mamba Forever special edition will have 100,000 VC (in-game currency) along with 10 MyTeam tokens, 40 MyTem packs and special sapphire versions of Lillard and Williamson which can be used in the game's MyTeam mode and MyPlayer mode. The first ten MyTeam packs will be provided with the launch, while ten addition packs will be given each for three consecutive weeks. The special game will also include a Sapphire-level Kobe MyTeam card, a Mamba MyPlayer uniform along with Black Mamba custom MyTeam jerseys.

NBA 2K21 Kobe edition: NBA 2K21 release date and NBA 2K21 pre order details

• NBA 2K21 release date for Current Gen – September 4, 2020 (Pre-orders available from Thursday)
• NBA 2K21 release date for Next-Gen – Holiday 2020

Also read | NBA 2K21 cover featuring Lillard receives backlash, fans ask for Kobe Bryant cover

Kobe Bryant NBA 2K21 Mamba forever edition: NBA 2K21 Kobe edition will have multiple Bryant artwork

Mamba Forever

❤️ this tweet for a closer look at the creation of the two Mamba Forever Edition covers and to get big #NBA2K21 updates through the rest of the year

— NBA 2K21 (@NBA2K)

Bryant was previously featured on the NBA 2K10 cover and the Legend Edition in 2017, which was released a year after his retirement. Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years, winning five NBA titles, two NBA Finals MVP and one league NBA MVP award. He retired in 2016 with 18 NBA All-Star appearances and 33,643 career points.

Bryant, along with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, was supposed to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame on August 29. However, the ceremony was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

Also read | NBA 2K21 release date, cover athlete and price details for various editions

(Image source: NBA 2K official site)