Sega originally published the NBA 2K series before 2K took over. The franchise debuted in 1999 on Sega’s Dreamcast, making Sega part of the series’ identity from its first release.
The original NBA 2K was developed by Visual Concepts and featured Allen Iverson on its cover. Sega published the early entries through the company’s Sega Sports label, establishing the basketball series alongside other Sega sports franchises such as NFL 2K.
The publishing change followed Take-Two Interactive’s acquisition of Visual Concepts and its sports publishing operations. Beginning with NBA 2K6 in 2005, the series was published by 2K, later associated with the 2K Sports label.
A common mix-up is to answer Visual Concepts, but that is the developer rather than the original publisher. Midway, Activision, and EA Sports were also involved in other game franchises, yet none was the original publisher of NBA 2K.