Michael Jordan to Grace Cover of NBA 2K11: Is Everyone Still in His Shadow?

CNBC announced that 2K Sports Vice President of Marketing, Jason Argent, has confirmed that the one and only Michael Jordan will be gracing the cover of the top-selling basketball video game.

2K Sports has also confirmed Jordan will be a playable character in the game. They have also stated the game will "contain many surprises!"

While this is a major change from the way 2K has normally chosen its cover model, I cannot help but wonder if this is more of a way to boost sales of the game rather than to pay homage to one of the greatest players ever.

2K usually goes with a player from the team who has won the championship the previous year. Sometimes they go with the previous year's MVP or the top player in the game.

This year, they have chosen a player who has been retired for nearly a decade. While Jordan is pretty much the name associated with the NBA, could this be setting a bad precedent for the NBA's image?

With multiple star players currently playing their hardest in the NBA, they are once again forced into the shadow of a former player.

We all know Jordan and his accomplishments, and how he has been rewarded and praised for his play over the years.

I think it is time to allow the current players to be recognized for their contributions to basketball without the pressure of being compared to Jordan.

This is extremely hard for anyone who plays for the Bulls, (aka Derrick Rose). There is always that mutter, "He isn't Michael!", even from Bulls fans.

I honestly believe that if 2K feels Jordan belongs on the cover of their game, then they should produce a retro-style game set back when he played.

Don't set a past player in a current roster and list it as, "full of surprises." The game is supposed to center around all current teams and players in the NBA for the 2011 season.  

Argent was quoted as saying, "We know we have the best NBA video game ever made here. So we thought to ourselves, how can we embody that, and there was only one person on that list who we wanted to have and that was Michael Jordan."

My question to Mr. Argent is simple:

LeBron, Kobe, Howard, Rondo, Gasol, Garnett, Rose, Nash, Nowitzki, Wade, and many other players who are currently playing their hearts out—none of them embody your new game?

I feel that these players will never be given their full due because they are being forced into Jordan's shadow.

Maybe I am just crazy?