NBA Live 16 publisher EA Sports today announced the game's cover star but, notably, not a release date as the series returns for a third straight year. Russell Westbrook, point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, fronts the box for the PlayStation 4- and Xbox One-only game.
Westbrook, the MVP of this year's NBA All-Star Game, recorded 11 triple-doubles (double figures in three meaningful statistical categories in the same game) this season, seven more than the next closest player. EA Sports hailed him as a player who "plays every game like he has something to prove."
The NBA Live series still does, too, even after regaining its footing with a capable NBA Live 15 last year. Three years of misfires between 2010 and 2012 still linger enough that the game's executive producer guaranteed to Polygon that NBA Live 16 would be published, a question other annual sports titles don't face. Still, little was heard of NBA Live as the hype campaign for NBA 2K16 got underway.
NBA 2K16 publisher 2K Sports has announced Sept. 29 as that game's launch date. A news release from EA Sports did not give a launch date for NBA Live 16. The last two editions of NBA Live both hit shelves after NBA 2K, with NBA Live 14 coming with the Xbox One and PS4's launch in November 2013, and NBA Live 15 coming at the end of October, three weeks after NBA 2K15.
EA Sports' news release said more details about the game will be offered during the publisher's E3 keynote on Monday, and that the game will be playable at the show floor.
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