The NBA (National Basketball Association) and Dapper Labs, the company who helped create NBA Top Shot and the “Flow” blockchain, recently announced the launch of their new NBA All-Star NFT Auction, complete with real life bonuses.
Sports NFTs on the Rise
NFTs are becoming a huge part of increasing engagement for sports teams and associations. Sporting events like The Super Bowl and even the Beijing Winter Olympics offer attendees and viewers NFTs to increase engagement.
Dapper Labs, an experienced NFT host and creation company, originally known for its “CryptoKitties” NFT collection, has since created its own blockchain, “Flow”. Flow was designed to create and host NFTs for some of the biggest sports names around. These big sports collaborations include the “UFC Strike” marketplace for UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and the “NFL All Day” marketplace for NFL (National Football League).
Shortly after, the NBA wanted to be a part of the NFT movement. As a result, they’ve collaborated with Dapper Labs to launch their “NBA Top Shot” NFT platform on the Flow blockchain, in the hopes of reinvigorating NFT sports card trading and increasing engagement with fans.
Why Buy an NBA Top Shot NFT?
The NBA and Dapper Labs is launch an auction that will give viewers an exclusive opportunity to get NFTs representing their favorite teams. The auction, which will be broadcast on NBA Top Shot, will feature 30 one-of-a-kind NFTs, each representing a different NBA team. Although this NFT launch is aimed at current NFT enthusiasts, it will also make NFTs accessible to those who are new to the field and are curious about getting one.
These 30 NFTs, being the only ones of their kind, give NBA fans incentives to purchase them. Not only will their purchases support their favorite teams and players, they will also give them exclusive bragging rights among their peers. NFTs of favorite sports teams will be an emblem of dedication.
Along with NFT users being able to use their NFTs as profile pictures, some of those who buy NFTs may also choose to resell them later. For those who buy an NBA Top Shot NFT, there is the potential to resell the NFTs for a sizable profit on secondary marketplaces in the future.
The Benefits of NBA Top Shot NFTs
The owners of each NFT will get some of the most extensive, first-of-its-kind rewards packages in the league’s history. Each NFT will offer the owner VIP access to the next five NBA All-Star games. For each of the next five NBA All-Stars games, beginning with NBA All-Star 2023 in Salt Lake City, the benefits will include:
- Behind-the-scenes access to All-Star planning through a virtual panel with NBA Events
- A personal All-Star tour with VIP status
- An exclusive VIP invitation to the NBA reception
- A curated tour of the host arena with an NBA senior official
- Two up close and personal lower-bowl tickets to the following events:
- NBA All-Star Game
- State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night, including the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest, the MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest, the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, and the Clorox Rising Stars Event
- Shootaround with an undisclosed NBA Legend on the NBA All-Star court
- A custom-made merchandise bag that includes an NBA All-Star jersey
- A special photo of themselves on the NBA All-Star Game court
All Top Shot users can participate in the auctions, which begin on Wednesday, February 23 at 8 p.m. EST. Every day afterwards, a new NFT auction will start, with the order coordinated by NBA divisions. Fans will be able to bid on each individual auction for seven days.
The Impact of this NFT Launch
Although the NBA Top Shot platform hasn’t seen too much action since last spring, NBA Top Shot suddenly exploded in popularity in the spring of 2021. It’s been credited with driving NFT adoption in the sports world.
In fact, January 2022 was Top Shot’s greatest month since April 2021, thanks to the launch of their marketing campaign, starring Kevin Durant. According to data from CryptoSlam, NBA Top Shot has produced over $900 million in market trade volumes to date.
This incredible NFT Launch is no doubt a decision to ride that wave of success and establish the Top Shot platform as a major player in NFT marketplaces. If this launch proves to be successful, there will likely be future launches with more benefits for buyers of NFTs from Top Shot and Dapper Labs.
That is the hope of Mik Nayeem, the co-founder of Dapper Labs. “We’ve started to gain a much more fundamental understanding of what people want out of this product,” Nayeem said in regards to NBA Top Shot. “Although we are seeing growth of new users, what’s been more exciting is the engagement of current users, and really the community and product teams finding that intersection point.”
