Non-Fungible Tokens (or NFTs for short) have become the latest crypto based trend to set the technological market ablaze which has such translated into the sporting industry and has since become a major commodity for all major sports and related athletes with basketball being perhaps draw for all forms of NFT related products.
Since the establishment and subsequent evolution of NFT related crypto products, the quantity of demand has skyrocketed in recent years as more artists based on the crypto circuit have continuously searched to create their own artwork that can feature on an NFT marketplace.
Nowadays, these tokens are scattered across all major technological platforms and have since transpired into amenities at local art museums and galleries in major cities such as New York and even Cleveland, Ohio for the NBA All-Star weekend.
When pondering on how to buy an NFT, sites such as the popular sportsbook Draft Kings offer an array of unique artwork for sale that any eager crypto consumer should consider investing.
The sudden upwards trend and hefty demand for NFTs has changed the entire landscape of the crypto currency marketplace forever and as such, NFTs have now featured in various forms of media including pop culture, technological news and with even more interest within famous sports leagues and their most star-studded athletes.
Out of all major sports, there may be no sport that aims to utilize NFTs to the maximum than basketball, and more specifically the NBA, due to the various products that most high-profile franchises have promoted as well as the overall epicenter of intrigue directed towards league viewers, with a prime example being the aforementioned NFT gallery for the 2022 All Star weekend in Cleveland.
- The most popular NBA NFTs:
One of the more recent forms of NFTs released by an NBA franchise came in the form of the Golden State Warriors legacy collection which commemorated the franchises fourth NBA Championship winning season in just seven years (seventh championship in franchise history).
The Warriors have their own NFT listing on the franchise’s website with the legacy collection including two special series minted on blockchain, a Warriors Championship winners ring NFT and a commemorative ticket stub NFT designed by various artists as well as including live game day experiences as well as a custom championship ring presentation in a future game.
Golden State are one of the world’s most valuable sports franchises and have been at the forefront of delivering NFT content based on their incredible success in recent years with even some of the team’s own star names promoting their own listing of products to their massive social media following and fandom.
Alongside the release of promotional collections celebrating a team’s success, NBA related NFTs have also been released at a hefty sum to commemorate highlight NBA plays including LeBron James’ February 6th, 2020, dunk on the Sacramento Kings.
This is arguably the most expensive NBA NFT released so far as it is valued at a whopping $60 million with its top sale price coming at just shy of $120 million.
Given that LeBron James is a household name across the world and is one of the league’s most exciting players to watch on any given night, it may come as no surprise that an NFT featuring ‘King’ James is ranked as one of the sporting world’s most expensive and highly coveted. Mainly because it features a nasty posturizer or transitional play which is always fun to watch.
Other notable NFTs featuring individual athlete plays include Ja Morant’s dunk vs Phoenix during his rookie campaign and Fred VanVleet’s three pointer against the Knicks on New Year’s Eve of 2020, both of whom have seen sales rank as high as $100-140 million.
- Which famous NBA athletes have their own NFT listings?
The amount of NBA players who promote and feature NFTs across forms of media is wide spread as even the league’s top names have their own NFT brand that they present to their wide scale fandom.
Arguably, the most famous names who promote NFT from the NBA include Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Paul George and Ben Simmons.
Outside of the superstar caliber names mentioned above the likes of Tyrese Haliburton, Hassan Whiteside and Javale McGee who all have NFT artwork as their social media profile pictures.
When it comes to the biggest promoter of NFT products from NBA athletes, Portland Trail Blazers guard Josh Hart remains as one of the league’s focal points as the 27 year old has since described his enjoyment for releasing NFTs and has claimed that he may have the best NFT releases out of any athlete.
The sport of basketball is universally beloved by a whole range of countries and since the game’s biggest league and athletes continue to promote the various releases of NFT products, the surge in popularity surrounding these crypto-based assets will only likely to be increased in the coming years.