The highly anticipated NBA 2K18 will be released on September 19 and fans are eager to grab their controllers and play with the new look rosters that include this year's NBA Draft class. Kyrie Irving has been selected to bless the cover for the first time in his NBA career. Irving seems like the worthy candidate, considering the fact that this could be his last season wearing a Cavaliers uniform after he recently requested a trade from the team.

Irving stepped up his game and had a career season despite his team losing in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors.

He averaged a career-high 25.2 points and shot just over 47 percent from the floor. However, the idea of Irving wearing another jersey already is assisting with building the anticipation of NBA 2K18's release.

Playing with the new draft class

The Philadelphia 76ers have not had this many fans eager to actually compete with them on NBA 2K since the days Allen Iverson was a regular on the cover. This time around, they have a roster that includes Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid. They also have sharp shooter J.J.

Reddick, Dario Saric, and Jahlil Okafor on the roster. Philly already has high expectations surrounding them this season, now fans will be able to have the luxury of testing out their skills themselves.

Lonzo Ball + Brandon Ingram equals "Showtime" for the Lakers, at least in Magic Johnson's eyes.

LaVar Ball spoke it into existence and his son Lonzo was selected No. 2 by L.A. in the 2017 draft and Magic expects his jersey to hang with the rest of the Hall of Famers like himself at the Staples Center when it's all over. The 76ers may be the most anticipated team to play with, but Lonzo Ball should be the most anticipated player to play with in the game.

Ball is coming off an impressive Summer League by winning MVP honors. He lived up to the hype in the summer and now fans are ready for the real thing. With LaVar already predicting playoffs, fans will be eager to see if they can lead the Lakers themselves with Lonzo to the playoffs while playing in The Association mode.

New look teams

The Minnesota Timberwolves are a new look team that now includes all-star guard Jimmy Butler. Andrew Wiggins and Karl Towns continue to progress every season and folks are already talking playoffs.

Seeing how the three mesh together will make them an early favorite to compete with come September 19.

The Houston Rockets pulled off the trade of the summer so far with the addition of Chris Paul. CP3 was a member of the Clippers since 2011 and this will be the first time he will be wearing a new uniform on the game since. Fans want to know just how good Paul looks in that Rockets red.

Most importantly, they want to know how well he and James Harden play in the backcourt together. It feels a lot different when you're the one holding the controller and deciding which guard you'd rather have bring the ball up.

Gordon Hayward decided to jump ship this off-season and rejoin forces with his old college coach Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics. Boston shocked the league last season by winning 53 games and taking the No. 1 seed in the east. Besides signing Hayward, the Celtics were able to draft the talented forward out of Duke in Jayson Tatum. Tatum's Summer League performance has built the hype for Boston even more and they will certainly be a team of interest on the new 2K18.

And of course, Paul George playing alongside the reigning MVP Russell Westbrook will make the OKC easily one of the top three teams fans will be excited to use.

Classic NBA teams included

When NBA decided to begin adding classic rosters during the release of NBA 2K11, it pushed the game to the top by far and forced the once famous NBA Live game to shut down for a few years. It's one thing to hear about the legends of the game growing up, but getting the chance to play with them allowed fans to have a deeper connection to the NBA and see what those players could do for themselves.

NBA 2K18 will be the most anticipated basketball game to date because it has the best combination of talent that any sports game has ever had to offer.

It will feature a music soundtrack that includes 49 total songs. Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal will be on the special edition covers of the game. Toronto Raptors guard Demar DeRozan will be featured on the cover for games sold in Canada.
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