Publisher 2K Sports Thursday announced the official release date for NBA 2K17 and it'll be arriving much earlier than expected. Those who pre-order the video game that features Paul George on the standard edition cover and Kobe Bryant for the special edition will get it on Friday, Sept. 16.
That will make 2K17 the second earliest a licensed NBA game has been released (Sept. 1, 2001 for NBA ShootOut 2002). Until two years ago the licensing agreement with the league mandated the release dates as no earlier than the first Tuesday in October. Since then NBA 2K has moved up nearly three weeks and that puts it six weeks out in front of the start of the actual NBA season.