If you find yourself shopping for video games sometime this fall, don’t be surprised to see the face of Joel Embiid staring back at you.
EA Sports announced Monday night the former University of Kansas center and current Philadelphia 76ers star will grace the cover of its upcoming release, “NBA Live 19.”
So even though the evening’s NBA Awards show didn’t include Embiid going home with some hardware — he finished second to Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year — it still went down as a sort of milestone night for the 24-year-old big man.
Embiid, remember, has only played in two seasons (94 regular-season games between them) and already is marketable enough to become the face of a video game franchise.
Although 2K Sports’ “NBA 2K” series is far more popular than its “NBA Live” competitor, some major names from The Association have graced recent covers of “NBA Live,” including two players who can now call themselves MVPs, Houston’s James Harden and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.
Only the biggest and brightest talents get their likenesses attached to video games and Embiid, an all-star starter in 2018, now has crossed another distinction off his career bucket list.
This past season, his second in the league, Embiid averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 3.2 assists, while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and playing in 63 games.
Look for Embiid’s stone-faced pose on “NBA Live 19” when it is released, on Sept. 7.
Excited to finally reveal that I’m on the cover of @easportsnba #NbaLive19 pic.twitter.com/q1yWwBH1gc
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 26, 2018
