NBA 2K12 is a basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released on October 4, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, Wii and for the first time on iOS iPhone and iPad. For the first time in the series, there were three different covers to choose from when purchasing the game. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan were the three cover athletes. It is the thirteenth installment in the NBA 2K series, the first game in the series to have "built-in" support of 3D for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, and the first to include motion controls using the PlayStation Move. NBA 2K12 is the successor to NBA 2K11 in the NBA 2K series.

2K Sports had a gameplay presentation with Kobe Bryant at E3 2011. The game was released on October 4, 2011. The first official teaser commercial for NBA 2K12 debuted on May 31, 2011 on ABC at the beginning of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks. The demo for the game was released on September 20, 2011 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, featuring a rematch of the 2011 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.

Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6'9" small forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the 2006–2007 Big 12 Player of the Year, amongst other awards. After a standout freshman season at the University of Texas, Durant opted to enter the NBA Draft, where he was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. There he went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after his debut season. In 2007, Durant signed an endorsement contract with Nike. In the 2009–10 season Durant led the NBA in scoring and became the youngest player ever to win the NBA scoring title. He would later be named to the 2010 All NBA First Team.