NBA 2K24 will reportedly introduce crossplay across all available platforms

2K Sports has announced that Kobe Bryant will grace the cover of NBA 2K24, marking the fourth time he has graced the cover of the popular basketball video game. The official NBA 2K Twitter account shared the news, tweeting:

"8️⃣ ♾2️⃣4️⃣ Sharing the Mamba Mentality with the next generation. Introducing our #NBA2K24 cover athlete, Kobe Bryant. 💛 Kobe Bryant Edition 🐍 Black Mamba Edition Pre-order your copy tomorrow."

Check out the NBA 2K24 announcement below:

Amid the announcement, it was revealed that several changes could be coming to the game. Greg Thomas, who is the president of Visual Concepts, the developer of NBA 2K, stated:

"As we celebrate 25 years of NBA 2K with Kobe Bryant, we commemorate his legacy and the generational impact he has had on the game of basketball.

"While we mark the history of the franchise, NBA 2K24 also looks ahead to the future to bring an innovative leap in technology and the introduction of community-requested features like crossplay." [h/t ESPN]

NBA 2K24 will mark the first 2K in which cross play is available. It will also mark the fourth 2K with the LA Lakers legend on the cover. Bryant previously graced the cover of NBA 2K10 while serving as the cover athlete of the Legend Edition of NBA 2K17 and the Mamba Forever Edition of NBA 2K21.

How did NBA 2K24 cover athlete Kobe Bryant fare in his NBA career?

Kobe Bryant is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer spent his entire 20-year career as a member of the LA Lakers. Bryant won five championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, one NBA MVP, four All-Star Game MVPs and two scoring titles.

He was named to 18 All-Star teams, 15 All-NBA teams and 12 All-Defensive teams. Eleven of his All-NBA Team selections were to the first team, nine of his All-Defensive team selections were to the first team.

The latter remains tied with Michael Jordan, Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett for the most in NBA history. Bryant was also named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team while earning Hall of Fame honors in his first year of eligibility.

Bryant finished his career with averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field, 32.9% from 3-point range and 83.7% from the free-throw line.