Damian Lillard Talks Being Named NBA Live 15 Cover Athlete and More

EA Sports has selected their cover athlete for NBA Live 15: Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.

He confirmed the news via his Instagram account on Monday.

I had an opportunity to speak with Lillard about the honor (see video). It didn't take long to see that he's a real gamer who has been playing NBA Live and other EA Sports games since he was a kid.

He realizes that many sports gamers recall and identify previous versions of their favorite sports video games by the athlete who graced the cover that year.

Lillard joins the likes of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and others who have also appeared on the cover of NBA Live.

image provided by EA Sports

Lillard isn't just a hoops fan when it comes to sports video games. He talked about his affinity for the Madden series and even Fight Night Champion.

image from NBA Live 15, provided by EA Sports

As a fellow combat sports fan, Lillard and I were on the same page pining for an update to EA Sports' boxing series.

News that Lillard will be gracing the cover of NBA Live 15 comes less than a week after Team USA announced that Lillard was one of the final players cut from the national team heading into the FIBA World Cup.

image from NBA Live, provided by EA Sports

Lillard's exclusion was more about Team USA choosing to go with size in preparation for a showdown with Spain in the gold medal game. The size of Spain's big men—Pau and Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka—could be an issue for the Americans, thus making players like DeMarcus Cousins and Mason Plumlee more valuable.

Lillard is without a doubt one of the best young point guards in the game. His opportunity to represent his country in international competition is almost certainly coming.

For now, the NBA Live community can simply enjoy having a player like Lillard on the cover of their game. The series continues to strive to compete with the NBA 2K series for supremacy in the world of virtual basketball simulations.

The game will be released on October 7 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Follow Brian Mazique aka FranchisePlay, the Sports and Video Game Journalist on Twitter.