EA Sports is giving its embattled NBA franchise another go, and has announced that Cleveland Cavaliers star point guard Kyrie Irving might be its cover athlete.[Exerpt]

“We couldn’t imagine an improved cover athlete for our game than the dynamic, explosive Kyrie Irving,” said Daryl Holt, VP and GM of basketball for EA Sports. “Kyrie is among the best ball handlers within the league, and with our next-generation technology we will arm players having the ability to replicate his impressive on-court feats, in addition to the fantastic signature styles and talents of different pros in NBA Live 14.”

The “hopefully” on this story headline, needless to say, refers to EA’s recent difficulties releasing its basketball titles. With both NBA Elite 11 and NBA Live 13 cancelled, the corporate hasn’t successfully launched a hoops game since October of 2009 when NBA Live 10 came out.

Our Take:
Kyrie Irving is a smart choice for the quilt of NBA Live 14. While he doesn’t have the global recognition of rival NBA 2K14’s Lebron James, basketball fans do know him as probably the most sports rising young talents. And let’s accept it: there is no topping Lebron. The selection of Kyrie is additionally perhaps symbolic. Just because the Cavaliers try to rebuild from the aftermath of Lebron’s high profile departure, NBA Live is making an attempt to revive this once great franchise after many years within the development wilderness. Regardless of who’s at the cover, just shipping a basketball game of any kind this year could be a win for EA.