As the first NBA 2K19 gameplay trailer arrives, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be placed front and center in the campaign.
It’s very unlikely that there are many sports fans, let alone NBA fans, who don’t know exactly who Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is by now, but that small number is only going to continue dwindling.
From the cover of Sports Illustrated to a 60 Minutes feature, one of the more recent landmark moments in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s continued rise to fame came to light when it was revealed he would be a cover athlete for videogame phenomenon NBA 2K19.
Antetokounmpo has already spoken at length about what that honor means to him, and the official unveiling included glimpses of promo videos and cover art, but on Tuesday we got a closer look at what the 23-year-old will actually look like in the game itself.
https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/1026847772887023619
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The reveal of NBA 2K19’s first gameplay trailer includes most of the league’s very best players, including Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul and Karl-Anthony Towns.
While all of those players received a couple of seconds of screen time, the trailer is essentially centered around Antetokounmpo and LeBron James; the duo who will grace the standard and anniversary editions of the game respectively.
Antetokounmpo’s presence coincided with the Bucks’ Fear the Deer moniker flashing up on screen, as well as some of the other words and phrases chosen by Giannis to grace his cover. As Antetokounmpo explained at the official announcement at the beginning of July, many of the other terms to be included on his cover will be centered around his family.
"“First of all I could start with my family and put my brothers’ names in there, because this is a part of history being on the 2K cover. I always wanted my family to be there. You can see it talks about my Dad, talks about my country, Greece. It talks about a lot of things that have to do with my family and where I’ve come from, and I think it’s pretty unique.”"
Of course, the Greek superstar was also among the NBA players whose in-game rating has been made public in recent weeks.
9⃣4⃣ Is @giannis_an34 now the best player in the East? #NBA2K19 pic.twitter.com/Me5NQ5F0Zt
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 30, 2018
Antetokounmpo had previously suggested he’d like his rating to leave him with room to improve further, so news of a 94 rating was likely music to his ears.
"“To be honest, I would like my rating to be around 94 or 95 because I always feel I can get better. I think that would be the perfect rating for me.”"
As the rollout process for 2K19 continues, the publicity around Antetokounmpo is likely to only intensify further. Not only do the Bucks have one of the NBA’s very best players, but he’s one of the league’s biggest stars too.