How Caitlin Clark's NBA 2K27 Cover Differs From Every WNBA Star Before Her

News broke on Wednesday that Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark was gracing the cover of the NBA 2K27 Deluxe Edition, which will be released worldwide on September 4, 2026. The cover shows her with the ball in her right hand, seemingly looking down the court, while wearing a yellow pair of her Nike Caitlin 1 signature shoes.

Caitlin Clark is the cover athlete for the NBA 2K27 deluxe edition: pic.twitter.com/cUywU1LXRn
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) July 22, 2026

This is the first time that Clark has been featured on the cover of an NBA 2K game, which is the biggest basketball video game franchise in the world by far. However, it's not the first time that a WNBA player has graced the cover of an NBA 2K edition, as A'ja Wilson was a cover athlete for a version of NBA 2K25 while Angel Reese was the cover athlete of an NBA 2K26 version.

But Clark's cover is different than that of Wilson, Reese, or any other WNBA player featured on a 2K cover (including Sabrina Ionescu, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker). The Fever star is featured on the NBA 2K27 Deluxe Edition (which will cost $99.99), which is part of the game's flagship release, alongside the Standard ($69.99) and Ultra ($149.99) editions.

In other words, Wilson, Reese, and every other WNBA NBA 2K cover star had been featured on the NBA 2K WNBA Edition, which is essentially a separate, league-specific variant of the game. Clark, on the other hand, isn't headlining a WNBA-specific edition. She's receiving her own global cover and is therefore the first WNBA player to receive that honor.

Why Caitlin Clark's NBA 2K Cover Distinction Matters

It might seem like there isn't a major difference between Clark's cover and that of the other WNBA stars before her. And while all are impressive in their own right, Clark being the cover star of the Deluxe Edition instead of a WNBA-specific edition is significant because it shows the video game's belief in her global, mainstream appeal, rather than just within the WNBA niche.

It also seems that NBA 2K27 isn't releasing a WNBA Edition this year, or at least didn't announce it with the other covers on Wednesday (the Standard edition features San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, and the Ultra edition features Derrick Rose during his days with the Chicago Bulls).

Instead, the league seems to be ditching that WNBA Edition cover because Clark is taking up more precious real estate with the Deluxe Edition. And as a result, this can be counted as another piece of history Clark has claimed.

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