Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA 2K26 headliner, the cover guy, the MVP highlighted as the face of the sport. But there's a player on the cover of the game twice, and it's not SGA. Social media sleuths quickly deduced that Celtics center Al Horford appears to have been used for two of the background images around Gilgeous-Alexander.

Fresh off a historic season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the cover athlete for NBA 2K26, the game’s developer announced Tuesday.

K has announced the NBA 2K26 Standard Edition cover athlete as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the star guard of the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The news caps off an incredible run for SGA, as he was not only a key part of the 2024-2025 NBA championship-winning Thunder but also league MVP,