After appearing on the cover of NBA 2K11, 2K12 and 2K16, the legendary Michael Jordan will return as Cover Athlete for the upcoming NBA 2K23, in two editions – the ‘Michael Jordan Edition’ and the ‘Championship Edition’.

There’s a very small roster of players that rival the global phenomenon that Michael Jordan became, and 2K say they have selected him as the embodiment of this year’s campaign theme ‘Answer the Call’, in his tenacity for always rising to the occasion.

The ‘Championship Edition’ of the game features more than just a variation on the MJ cover, as a limited-edition version that includes a 12-month subscription to NBA League Pass.

Inside NBA 2K23 itself, a mode called the ‘Jordan Challenge’ will be brought back, allowing players to re-create 15 iconic moments from MJ’s life, across his college, NBA and Team USA Basketball careers (no PGA tour crossover, though). Ten of these are the original challenges from NBA 2K11, rebuilt from the ground up for this new game, while five will be new moments. 2K say these challenges take advantage of ‘more than a decade of technological leaps to provide a completely new way to play through Jordan’s accomplishments’. It also features unique video vignettes and commentary from NBA luminaries, including Jordan’s teammates, opponents and other sports personalities.

Pre-orders for NBA 2K23 go live on 7 July, while the game itself will launch on 9 September, 2022. You can check out the new covers below: