2K Games has announced that retired NBA player and Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal will grace the cover of the special edition of NBA 2K18.

There will be two different covers for the Legend Edition: Shaq in Miami Heat uniform on regular Legend Edition and Shaq in Los Angeles Lakers uniform on Legend Edition Gold. Sorry, Orlando Magic fans. Prior to this, he was featured as an NBA 2K cover athlete on NBA 2K6 and NBA 2K7.

Regular Legend Edition will be available for $99.99, while Gold goes for $149.99. The game launches on September 19 on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch, and PC. Both special editions will come with bonus physical and in-game goodies.

The regular Legend Edition comes with a Shaq poster, 5 Panini trading cards, stickers, 100,000 virtual currency, 20 weekly card packs, and "Shaq in-game items." The Legend Edition Gold will come with the same goodies, plus a lenticular, an additional 5 Panini trading cards (10 total), another 150,000 virtual currency (250,000 total), and an extra 20 weekly card packs (40 total).

Moreover, pre-ordering either of these two special editions will grant Early Tip-Off Access on September 15 - four days before the worldwide release.

In an interesting twist of fate, Shaq being featured as the Legend Edition cover athlete comes after NBA 2K17 featured just-retired Kobe Bryant for its special edition. Shaq and Kobe have a long history. They won three NBA championships with the Lakers in 2000, 2001, and 2002, before a notorious feud forced the Lakers to trade Shaq to the Heat. He subsequently won another championship with the Heat in 2006.

Regarded by many as one of the best and most dominant players in the history of basketball, Shaq was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. He's a 15-time All-Star, 4-time Champion, 3-time Finals MVP, an NBA MVP and Rookie of the Year.

He was picked first overall by the Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft, following a collegiate career at Louisiana State University, and played for six NBA teams: Magic, Lakers, Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics.