Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin Grace Cover Of NBA 2K13

Young NBA stars continue to be the talk of the league and along with that trend, two standouts with Oklahoma ties will be featured on the cover of a popular video game.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant and former OU Sooner Blake Griffin, who now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, are two of the three athletes that will appear on the cover of "NBA 2K13."

The video game previously featured legends Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan on the covers and individually released the game with one legend per cover, but this year all three stars are pictured on the cover at once. Chicago's Derrick Rose is also featured on the cover along with Durant and Griffin.

"Being crowned as one of the NBA 2K13 cover athletes is a huge honor and something I always dreamt about," said Durant in a press release. "It's definitely humbling to grace the cover after the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird."

"There are many young superstars in today's NBA, but we've selected three incredible athletes for the cover of NBA 2K13 that represent the NBA well," said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "It's clear to us that Blake, Derrick and Kevin are the most deserving guys to inherit the NBA 2K cover from Jordan, Magic and Bird."

"There's so much young talent around the NBA, so it's very exciting to be chosen for NBA 2K's ‘New Dynasty' alongside Kevin and Derrick," added Griffin, who helped lead the Clippers to their first postseason since 2006. "The NBA 2K series has always been my first choice when I want to get a game in."

"It's a dream come true to be one of the cover athletes for NBA 2K13," commented Rose, the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player, who led the Bulls to a league-best 50-16 record this season. "I've worked closely with 2K Sports since NBA 2K10, and I'm honored to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan as the latest Chicago Bull to be featured on the cover."

The video game will be available on October 2, 2012 in North America and October 5 internationally. In addition, the Wii U version of the title will be available during the holiday season.