Caitlin Clark Talks NBA 2K27 Cover, Rating, Sophie Cunningham, LeBron and More in B/R Interview

Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark grew up trying to beat her two brothers in video games, and now she's on the cover of one.

On Wednesday morning, Clark was unveiled as the cover star of the Deluxe Edition of NBA 2K27. The latest installment of the famed video game series will officially launch on Sept. 4 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch 2, with Deluxe Edition or Ultra Edition owners receiving Early Access on Aug. 28.

"It's pretty cool and pretty surreal. As a kid growing up, you're always watching to see who's gonna be on the next cover of 2K," Clark told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "I think it's cool to see where the women's game is at this point in time, too. People are getting excited about what the women's game can bring. Hopefully that's the same energy and excitement that's brought to me being on the cover, hopefully young kids love it, and hopefully it can show a lot of young girls, too, about what they can achieve one day."

Clark joins San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama, the Standard Edition cover athlete, and future Hall of Famer Derrick Rose, who is being honored on the cover of the limited-time Ultra Edition. All three of them share the distinction of being No. 1 overall draft picks and Rookie of the Year winners.

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"It's definitely really cool. I actually remember Derrick Rose was one of the first-ever NBA players I met. I was in the seventh grade at a basketball tournament in L.A., and we ran into him on the street. So it's kind of a surreal moment that I get to share the cover with him," she said. "And obviously Wemby, he's one of my favorite young players in the NBA right now, and becoming this global superstar. So it's really cool for me to be alongside both of them. It's not something I take lightly; it's really cool and a big honor."

While she hasn't had the chance to meet Rose again in her adult years, Clark said she's had one memorable interaction with Wembanyama.

"We went to dinner with each other, and he was kind enough to give me one of his game-worn jerseys," she recalled. "That's probably one of my favorite signed game-worn jerseys that I have in my collection so far. He's probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite, players in the NBA."

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Clark reminisced about how playing as Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry in NBA 2K helped inspire her basketball journey, and she said she hopes to have the same impact on future generations through their experience playing the video game.

"My brothers were big gamers growing up, so I would try to hop in and beat them. Steph Curry, he was my favorite player and still is one of my favorite players to watch. His shooting ability, that's what makes the game so fun," she said. "So, I think that's very similar to what I hope people can feel when they play 2K as me or as my team: that you can almost shoot like me or play like me through the game. That's how I felt as a kid when I was playing it. You want to play as your best player and maybe feel a part of their game, even though it's through a controller and a TV screen, you can feel the connection through that."

WNBA players made their debut in NBA 2K in the 2019 edition, 2K20. Clark follows three-time champion Candace Parker, four-time MVP A'ja Wilson and three-time All-Star Angel Reese as WNBA players to have their own covers in the long-running video game series, which she feels has helped grow the league's popularity.

"I think that you've seen the game just become so much more accessible to our fans, whether it's us being in 2K, gamers being able to play as their favorite team or their favorite players, it just brings that much more excitement," she said. "It brings new fans into the WNBA at the same time, like people who aren't as familiar with the WNBA or haven't watched, it can bring them in. But I think overall, you've seen the accessibility of our game grow.

"When I was a young kid, really the only time you were able to interact with the WNBA was maybe if it was on ESPN or on a national TV broadcast, which there weren't a ton of when I was growing up," she continued. "So it's been really cool to watch how that's expanded so much. I think 2K certainly helps with, obviously, there's young kids who love the game, but there's every different demographic and every different age range of people that use 2K or want to play the game, and it can bring those fans in, which is pretty exciting and pretty cool."

Clark made her video game debut in NBA 2K25, and she was most recently rated 96 overall in last year's 2K26, making her the fourth-highest-rated WNBA player in the game. She humbly admitted that her rating may have dropped or stayed the same after she was limited to 13 games in the 2025 season due to injuries.

"Oh gosh. They can keep me at a 96; I don't know, maybe they dropped me down. I didn't play too much last year, so I gotta prove myself again," she said with a laugh. "But we can only get better. They can keep me where I am, they might've dropped me a little bit, but we'll build it back up."

As for her Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham, who was rated 78 overall in 2K26, Clark is hoping to see her numbers improve this time around.

"We can get it up, we can definitely get her rating up," Clark said. "She's [second] in the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage right now, so we can bump her up to the 80s, the mid-80s. I think she's playing well, so she probably deserves that, we'll give it to her."

Clark was also asked which four WNBA players she'd add alongside her on a 2K27 "dream team," and she listed an impressive lineup of legends.

"Maya Moore, for sure. I'd probably put Sue Bird next to me, because if I didn't want to bring the ball up every time, I'd have Sue to do it for me. I'd go Lisa Leslie and Cheryl Miller," she said. "I think we'd probably not lose a game; we'd dominate."

For what NBA players she'd want to share the floor with, Clark listed her two favorites along with legends LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

"'Bron, Steph Curry, Kobe and I'll put Wemby. Have to, come on," she said.

As for how gamers can best utilize her in NBA 2K27, Clark's advice was simple.

"I feel like it's pretty obvious: take the long threes; that's what I do when I play 2K," she said. "If people want to play like me, I would definitely say to just launch a bunch of threes, take some logo shots, pass the ball well."

That could be a better strategy than the viral video that saw her dunking on James and leaving him laid out on the court.

"That's pretty ridiculous," Clark said. "That one did make me laugh, me dunking on 'Bron. I wonder if 'Bron has seen that? We gotta make sure he gets his eyes on that."

Clark also weighed in on where she would like to see James land in free agency this summer, and she said she wants him to join her in Indiana.

"I'd put him on the Pacers just because it would be easy for me to watch him every single night. Especially if this is gonna be his last year or one of his last years playing in the NBA, and he was in the same city that I'm in, I would be at every single game, I would have courtside season tickets," she said. "But I don't think the Pacers is gonna happen, so if I had to pick a different team that's maybe a little more reasonable and has been rumored, I would pick the Warriors. I think it would be really cool to see him and Steph team up together. But if I could pick any team, I would pick the Pacers, just so I could selfishly watch him every night."

Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton made an effort to convince James to play his 24th NBA season alongside him in Indiana, but he didn't get very far.

"I don't think we ever stood a chance," Clark said. "Tyrese did his part, but we never had a chance."

It would certainly be easier to dictate James' destination in a video game, but Clark's busy schedule doesn't allow for much leisure time. After spending most of her youth playing favorites like Mario Super Sluggers and Fortnite, she said she's spent her adulthood trying to unplug whenever she can.

"I don't have as much time these days, unfortunately. All of my friends in college, that's all we did. Especially senior year, I was basically already done with school, so me and all my friends after practice we would literally just go get on our gaming consoles and put our headphones on, and that was how we hung out with each other a lot of the time," she said. "I just don't have as much free time, and when I do, I try to be outside or spend it with family that comes in town, especially when I'm in season, or friends, or whatever it is. So I don't get to do it as much, and I grew up playing video games a decent amount, but I don't get as much time doing it. It's not because I don't like it; I certainly do. I just don't have as much free time anymore."

However, Clark made it clear that she plans to make an exception when NBA 2K27 officially drops later this summer.

"That's right," she said. "That's the plan."