Bryant covers NBA 2K10

LOS ANGELES--The 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo will soon be a fading memory at the Los Angeles Convention Center once the event's third and final day wraps up this afternoon. Tonight, though, it will be a mob scene just a few hundred feet away at the Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic will face off in game one of the NBA Finals. (Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. PDT.) And just ahead of the series opener, Lakers star shooting guard Kobe Bryant has rung up another accolade in his impressive basketball career: cover star of 2K Sports' upcoming NBA 2K10.

Bryant, a three-time NBA champion with the Lakers, will be officially unveiled as the featured athlete on the cover of NBA 2K10 during a special pregame commercial produced by Spike Lee, who recently produced a documentary on Kobe's career, titled Kobe Doing Work. By the looks of it, the commercial will feature Lee making a case for Kobe to come to New York City to play for the Knicks, even going so far as to show Bryant in a Photoshopped Knicks jersey. 2K Sports will also allow fans to vote on their favorite version of NBA 2K10 on the official Web site. (Unfortunately, the Big Apple Kobe won't be an option.)

This isn't the first game cover appearance for Bryant: The 11-time NBA All Star was featured on the cover of the NBA Courtside series, which briefly appeared on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. Bryant has also appeared on the cover of Sony's hoops series, most recently alongside the likes of Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James on the cover of NBA 09: The Inside.