The heartbreaking news of Kobe Bryant's horrific accident in which he tragically lost his life along with his daughter Gianna and several other people, shocked the basketball world massively. A huge number of players and coaches - even those from other sports - were quick to express their mourning and grief on various social media outlets.

Numerous NBA teams symbolically committed 24 and 8 second violations at the start of their games in order to honour the numbers Bryant wore throughout his career, whereas others paid their respects by holding the traditional minute of silence before tip-off. Some people are even requesting for the official logo of the NBA to be changed to Kobe's silhouette to forever honour his name.

2K Sports, the publisher behind the incredibly popular NBA 2K series, posted an image of Kobe at the login screen of commemorating the LA Lakers legend. But the game's community took it one step further and honoured Kobe in a truly heartwarming way. In one of the most popular game modes called The Neighborhood, more specifically in the Park, players wore Kobe's gear to just how appreciated he was even in the virtual world.

However, the 2K Nation have not stopped there - fans are now for 2K Sports to put Kobe Bryant on the cover of NBA 2K21. Multiple fan-made mockups of the cover have been surfacing across various NBA 2K groups over the last couple of days, all of which have been received with the most positive of reactions by the 2K community.

AltChar Our take on the NBA 2K21 cover featuring the LA Lakers legend

Needless to say, none of this comes as a surprise given the fact that Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players ever to have stepped on a basketball court. This absolute legend of the game and a role model to many upcoming stars in the league, as well as to countless ballers worldwide - professional or amateur, deserves every bit of respect and recognition that he has received thus far.

Besides, 2K are no strangers to putting the same player on the cover of different iterations of NBA 2K. Kobe Bryant, for example, graced the cover of NBA 2K10 and the Legend Edition of NBA 2K17, and honouring the Lakers icon for the third time should most certainly not be out of the question.