Next Gen Game

EA Sports has picked Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant as the cover athlete for its basketball reboot, NBA Elite 11. Durant is perhaps the best young player in the NBA today; this past season, he became the youngest player in history to win the scoring title, doing it at the age of 21 by averaging 30.1 points per game. He led the Thunder to a 50-win season and a playoff berth, and he also made the NBA All-Star team for the first time.

Jordan Edelstein, VP of Marketing at EA Sports, explained the choice by tying in Durant's promising future to how EA hopes Elite 11 will change gaming: "Just like we see Durant as the future of the NBA, NBA ELITE 11represents the future of basketball video games. "Durant is the third player will be on the cover of EA 's now-defunct college basketball series as well as its pro basketball game.

NBA Elite 11 will be out this October for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Check out 360 and PS3 box art shots in the gallery below.