Sue Bird and Diana Torasi have been together for more than two decades, playing together in the Yukon and later helping the US Olympic women’s basketball team win five gold medals.
Basketball Great NBA 2K23 WNBA Edition will now appear on the cover of the video game, which will air on September 9.
Bird called it “really, personally good” and said it was only the second time it had been on the women’s cover and “differently special”.
This is the second year in a row that WNBA Athlete will be on the cover of video games; Candace Parker was in it last year.
Authorized # NBA2K23 WNBA Edition Cover Athletes Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird pic.twitter.com/zL1QRoh48u
– NBA 2K23 July 6, 2022
“The response to the first WNBA version of NBA 2K last year was overwhelmingly positive and was a testament to W’s growing audience and importance,” said Alfie Brody, vice president of 2K’s global marketing strategy. “Sue Bird and Diana Torresi have excelled individually and collectively and have solidified their position as two of the best players in WNBA history.”
Pakshi and Taurasi said they used to play video games when they were younger, but there were no female basketball players in the game.
“You know you have all these little girls playing basketball, and they can start gaming now, you know, hopefully, on the cover of their two favorite players,” Torasi said. “It just shows you how far gaming and women’s basketball have come.”
Bird thinks being on the cover and having WNBA players in video games will help normalize the presence of female players in the lives of both boys and girls.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a girl or a boy, whether it’s a woman or a man, and that’s the beauty of it,” Bird said. “It’s becoming a common part of this ecosystem which is a commercial game and gaming is a big part of that ecosystem, so to participate in it now, it’s just to push things forward and open more doors and make more sense.” I ‘m coming. “
NBA 2K has partnered with WNBA Stars to donate ,000 100,000 each to Kid Sports, giving young people the opportunity to participate in youth basketball competitions across the country. The donation will cover the registration fee of more than 550 girls from income-restricted families.
Bird said, “Girls are leaving the game at an alarming rate, and I think part of it is that they can’t always dream of what career career is really easy for little boys.” “It doesn’t really matter if you make it or not. But it’s very easy for kids who turn on the TV to see what life would be like if I stayed in my sport.”