NBA 2K13 Cover: Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin Grace Cover

With the popularity of the NBA 2K video games, there is no doubt that the release of the cover art will cause fans to get excited about the 2013 edition of the series.

Add in that NBA stars Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin will be gracing the cover, and fans of the sport figure to be all over this game when it’s released.

While it’s not uncommon for the company to put current stars on the cover, the inclusion of three of the youngest players signals a complete 180-degree turn from the trio of NBA legends the company had on the cover last year.

Instead of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, the fans get a more familiar cast of characters (considering many gamers weren’t alive when Bird and Magic were squaring off).

"WOW" Factor: 8 out of 10

The NBA 2K13 cover, which features three current stars who are 23 years old, signals a change in philosophy. While the nostalgia of having former NBA stars on the cover is nice, the games are not being marketed to people who appreciate seeing Bird and Magic on a video game.

The cover design isn’t much different from the past NBA 2K games, but you have to love that they have three of the league’s biggest stars on one cover. You can’t go wrong hyping Rose, Durant and Griffin.

Design: 5 out of 10

If you had NBA 2K12, you will realize that it looks like the designers photo-shopped Michael Jordan off last year's cover and dropped in the pictures of the current stars.

Not impressive.

The cover should have had a neutral background that made each of the players pop out, instead of allowing Derrick Rose to blend in so perfectly.

My other qualm is the open space all over the cover. While last year’s game cover featured a great image of one of the three NBA legends with crazy smoke designs around them, the 2013 edition looks more like something you would see on an NBA message board.

Overall Swag: 7 out of 10

It’s hard to tell how much I actually enjoy the artwork because of the sheer excitement over the thought of the new NBA 2K game being released, but it’s not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination.

The idea of pushing the league's youngest stars is the right way to go about this, but there looks to be so much the designers left on the table. The cover almost feels unfinished.

2K Sports gets a seven out of 10 mostly for its ideas and not its execution, which really could be so much cooler. With lots of time before this game goes to mass production, let's hope the company will rethink the current design.

Check back for more on the National Basketball Association as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s NBA page to get your fill of all things basketball.

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