NBA Live's Next Cover Athlete Victim Is...

Excited for NBA Live 10? Me neither. The last NBA Live game I bought was '07, and I don't see a reason to upgrade. Sure, new rosters, players, franchise control, slamtankerous dunks, Dynamic Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid, blah blah blah... I just don't care much anymore. I do, however, take note of which athlete makes the cover of the sports games each year. Maybe it's out of curiosity, maybe it's a pathetic display of schadenfreude, I don't know. All I know is the athlete that graces the cover generally goes into a slump the following year, and this year the (dis)honor falls to...

Dwight Howard.

Let's hope this doesn't have an adverse effect on his team's NBA title run, although some might say it's already over with the Lakers up 2-1 with home court advantage. Who knows, with the next two games at the Magic's Amway Arena, Dwight and co. might pull out a couple more, and I would happily cheer them on, being anti-Lakers since Kurt Rambis flopped his way about the court decades ago. The meat of the press release is below.

"“It’s an honor to be named as the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10,” said Howard. “This year has been a crazy ride and this is a cool way to cap it off. Of course - there is one more thing I’m on the hunt for that would complete it.”

Featuring several innovations to the core gameplay experience and online game modes, NBA LIVE 10 is bringing a renewed focus to the long-running EA SPORTS basketball franchise. The groundbreaking Dynamic DNA service, driven by Synergy Sports Technology, will make a return in NBA LIVE 10, with significant improvements that will allow players to connect their game to the NBA season like never before.

Along with Howard, regional NBA LIVE 10 cover athletes for France, Germany, Spain and Italy will be named at a later date.

The NBA LIVE franchise has graced multiple generations of consoles for over 15 years, and has sold more than 35 million units lifetime. The game will be available for the PLAYSTATION