NBA 2K21’s official in-game soundtrack has been released, and two new Damian Lillard songs will be included on the track list, 2K announced Monday.
The soundtrack — which will include Damian Lillard, Stormzy, Roddy Ricch and The Strokes — is now available on Spotify. It does not include Lillard’s new tracks yet, which will be “exclusively debuting in the game,” 2K said in a press release.
The soundtrack — now at 52 songs — will expand to 202 tracks at launch. The soundtrack will consistently update with new music as the year goes on.
Lillard was announced as one of the the NBA 2K21 cover athletes earlier this summer.
“To be on the cover alone is a big deal to me, but to be on the cover and also have my music be a part of the game is a huge accomplishment as well,” Lillard said in a statement. “Personally, I’ve been introduced to new artists, songs and genres that I might hear on the radio, but I heard it first on NBA 2K.”
This is another step for Lillard in building his brand. A cover feature often catapults a player into the next level. Two new song features will only expand that reach.
Blake Lawrence, co-founder and CEO of athlete marketing platform Opendorse, told me that making the cover can be “ a cornerstone moment for any athlete.”
“For athletes like Lillard, it can be a signal that they have arrived as one of the league’s most marketable superstars. While brands with close ties to the NBA likely already understand Dame’s mass marketability, the cover spot puts him on a shortlist of NBA marketing stars and will potentially expose him to a broader market of potential partners,” said Lawrence, an expert in sports marketing.