{"id":831663,"date":"2026-09-09T18:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/831663\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T18:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:21:16","slug":"meet-the-san-antonio-photographer-behind-wembys-nba-2k27-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/831663\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the San Antonio photographer behind Wemby\u2019s NBA 2K27 cover"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio photographer Ron Cortes, a Pulitzer Prize winner whose photo career spans several decades, recently had one of his images of Spurs star Victor\u00a0Wembanyama made into a cover for the new\u00a0NBA 2K27 video game.<\/p>\n

Andrew J. Whitaker\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n

When San Antonio photographer Ron\u00a0Cortes learned a shot he took of Spurs star Victor\u00a0Wembanyama made the cover of NBA 2K27<\/a>, he had to look up both the real-life game where it happened and the video game that immortalized it.<\/p>\n

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The photo came from the Spurs\u2019 March 19 matchup against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center.\u00a0Wembanyama hit the game-winning\u00a0fadeaway with 1.1 seconds remaining, clinching the Spurs\u2019 first playoff berth in six years. He pulled up for the shot just 5 feet from Cortes\u2019 lens, which then captured the postgame mayhem as Wembanyama\u2019s teammates swarmed him on the court to celebrate.<\/p>\n

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That moment now graces the cover of NBA 2K27,\u00a0the latest installment in the popular hoops series developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Games. The game is\u00a0available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

The Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama celebrates with teammates after his game-winning shot against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center on March 19. The photo by San Antonio photographer Ronald Cortes is now cover art for the new video game NBA 2K27.<\/p>\n

Ronald Cortes\/Getty Images\"The<\/p>\n

The $69.99 Standard Edition of NBA 2K27 features Spurs great Victor Wembanyama on the cover.<\/p>\n

Courtesy 2K<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to be recognized, Cortes said. But for the former Philadelphia Inquirer photographer, who now works for\u00a0Getty Images and regularly contributes to the Express-News, it\u2019s just another picture-perfect moment in a long string of images that all mean the world to him.<\/p>\n

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That goes for the photos he has shot in Bosnia, Ethiopia and South Africa, as well as around his hometown of San Antonio, from the NBA Finals, the Olympics and the Super Bowl to another Friday night of high school football.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it\u2019s just the privilege of being able to be there in so many people\u2019s experiences and lives and struggles that has made my profession worthwhile,\u201d Cortes said.<\/p>\n

In his 40-plus years of photojournalism, Cortes has earned a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism,<\/a> a Pictures of the Year International award,<\/a> a World Press Photo award<\/a> and countless accolades from editors and fellow photographers.<\/p>\n

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\"In<\/p>\n

In this 1996 photo by Ron Cortes, Steven Jacobs is comforted by his son, Steven\u00a0Hendricks, 22, at their home. When it was certain Jacobs would not recover from a rare cancer, he told his doctor, “I just want to go home and rest until the time comes.” The image was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning series by the Philadelphia Inquirer on Americans’ choices to die with dignity.<\/p>\n

Ron Cortes\/Philadelphia Inquirer<\/p>\n

\u201cRon\u2019s been one of our go-to sports photographers for close to a decade,\u201d said Michel\u00a0Fortier, regional director of visuals for the Express-News and Austin American-Statesman. \u201cHe\u2019s had a storied career and a Pulitzer to show for it. He knows great moments and how to put himself in the right spot at the right time so it comes as no surprise to me (2K) chose his image.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photojournalist<\/p>\n

Photojournalist Ron Cortes, far left, photographs San Antonio Spurs forward\u00a0Keldon Johnson (3) and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor\u00a0Wembanyama (1) as they celebrate a 2025 victory over the Miami Heat at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n

Cortes\u2019\u00a0image makes\u00a0Wembanyama the first Spurs player to make an NBA 2K cover. It\u2019s also the first cover in 2K\u2019s 25-year history to include teammates.<\/p>\n

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In a late-July Instagram post,<\/a> Wembanyama got his first look at the Cortes photo-turned-game art. He called the image \u201ca dope picture\u201d that captures \u201cthe whole identity\u201d of the Spurs in that moment of emotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I love most about it is that you see my teammates in it,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a singular better photo for the cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technically, there are three covers for\u00a0NBA 2K27. Wembanyama graces the $69.99 Standard Edition, while\u00a0WNBA star Caitlin Clark appears on the $99.99 Deluxe Edition and Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose stars on the $149.99 Ultra Edition.<\/p>\n

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\"NBA<\/p>\n

NBA 2K27 features three hoops superstars for its game covers: (from left) Spurs star Victor Wembanyama,\u00a0WNBA star Caitlin Clark and Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose.<\/p>\n

Courtesy 2K<\/p>\n

Cortes does not have a copy of the game, much less a game console or the inclination to play it. The image was one of many he shot at that momentous Spurs game, which ultimately led to the Spurs\u2019 return to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

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Still, Cortes does have a few prized photos framed in his home: Philadelphia 76ers legend Julius Erving about to throw down a vicious dunk on the Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan looking up in awe; an older woman in her former high school\u2019s typing class as part of her mission to finish her education; and a group of Olympic hopefuls from Soweto, South Africa, lined up barefoot for a 10K race.<\/p>\n

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\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio-based veteran photographer Ron\u00a0Cortes\u00a0has traveled the world and covered just about every major sporting event, including the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, Olympics and World Series.<\/p>\n

Andrew J. Whitaker\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n

He also has the Pulitzer certificate he received in 1997 with Inquirer writer Michael Vitez and photographer April Saul for their winning series on the choices critically ill patients face when they want to die with dignity.<\/p>\n

Cortes insisted his wife, Rose Mary, framed the honor. \u201cHe\u2019s a modest guy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so (much) incredible work that\u2019s being done all over the world,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s just a privilege to be part of that group of people that are doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Born and raised on San Antonio\u2019s\u00a0South Side near Mission Concepci\u00f3n, Cortes graduated from Central High School before earning a degree in mathematics from the University of Texas. He then taught for a decade in high schools in Texas, California and Tehran, Iran, before returning to UT for post-graduate work in communications, with an emphasis on photography.<\/p>\n

Shortly before presenting his final photography exhibit for his degree, he left for a staff photographer job at the Wilmington News Journal in Delaware. He went on to spend nearly 30 years at the Inquirer before returning to San Antonio and splitting his photo work between Getty and the Express-News.<\/p>\n

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Cortes credits his success and longevity to gaining the trust of his subjects. He noted they understand he is a visual historian there to capture their story without judgment.<\/p>\n

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That trust has led to rich images and intimate visual stories that include an Amish fair and a group of Amish men playing \u201ccorner ball\u201d behind a barn, the state of voodoo in the United States, and a baseball series he had to sneak into Cuba to cover.<\/p>\n

That latter assignment was a breeze compared to some shoots that have left him and his equipment battered and bruised.<\/p>\n

Cortes recalled one time covering a taxi strike for the Inquirer when a car hit him and flipped him in the air. As the driver came up to him on the street,\u00a0Cortes performed a quick body check \u2014 \u201cMy gear\u2019s OK, my pants are not torn, I\u2019m OK, he\u2019s OK,\u201d he recalled \u2014 and continued with the assignment. He even asked a taxi driver if he could hop on top of his vehicle to take a wide shot. He then jumped down and collapsed.<\/p>\n

The next day Cortes was back at the Inquirer photo desk.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s the passion,\u201d he said. \u201cYou feel like you owe people that responsibility as journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cortes also suffered for his art at a previous Spurs home win in early November. In a similar post-game scrum, he tripped over a fellow photographer\u2019s leg and fell face-first on his camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd blood was coming out all over the place,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you know, I wanted to get up and they were insisting on attending to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As in Philly before, Cortes again showed up to work the next day \u2014 in this case at Frost Bank Center as part of a Spurs back-to-back home stand.<\/p>\n

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From team ownership in the press room to\u00a0Wembanyama at shootaround, the Spurs checked in on a bandaged Cortes to make sure he was OK, he said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Ron\u00a0Cortes for you. Always taking one for the team.<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Antonio photographer Ron Cortes recently had one of his images of Spurs star Victor Wembanyama land on the cover of the new NBA 2K27 video game.<\/p>\n

Andrew J. Whitaker\/San Antonio Express-News