Tag: NBA

NBA Partners with Sorare for NFT-Based Basketball Fantasy Game

by Blockchain News

To enhance the fan experience and render more interaction, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has partnered with the web3 fantasy game platform Sorare.

In a statement, the NBA pointed out that the fantasy basketball game will allow fans to develop a lineup of NFT-powered digital collectables based on their favourite teams and players. 

Moreover, earning points will depend on NBA players’ real-life performance. Per the announcement:

“Sorare will launch the first officially licensed, free-to-play digital collectible-based fantasy basketball game, which will be released this fall for the NBA’s 2022-23 season.”

Through the strategic partnership, Sorare will be granted the right to use official NBA team and league logos on its products.

The NBA sees the basketball fantasy game as a stepping stone toward expanding its fan base, according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

He added:

“Our partnership with Sorare will give NBA fans an entirely new way to engage with our teams and players. With Sorare’s emerging NFT fantasy platform, we see significant opportunities to broaden our community of fans and grow NBA basketball around the world.”

By leveraging Sorare’s platform, the basketball fantasy game will be accessible to more than two million registered users across 185 nations.

Nicholas Julia, Sorare’s CEO and co-founder, pointed out:

 “The NBA has been at the forefront of digital experiences and collectibles, and our game gives basketball fans the ultimate sports entertainment experience, where they can play like a general manager, own their game, and foster real-world connections.”

By creating unique digital tokens and signing top leagues and clubs to its fantasy platform, Sorare seeks to boost digital assets and blockchain adoption in daily life. 

For instance, Sorare created an NFT-based fantasy baseball game after joining hands with Major League Baseball (MLB) earlier this year. 

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NBA to Release 18,000 NFTs in the 2022 Playoffs

by Blockchain News

The National Basketball Association (NBA), a professional basketball league in the United States, will mint 18,000 dynamic non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum network for each player taking part in this year’s playoffs. 

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The NFT collection dubbed The Association will involve 240 players and 16 teams, each player being allocated 75 NFTs.

The NBA playoffs is the main postseason tournament held to determine the league’s champion. Therefore, this year’s edition will be commemorated using NFTs, given that they will have the capability of changing appearance based on a player’s on-court performance.  

Per the announcement:

“The Association NFTs are connected to live data feeds and computations for each respective team and player via Chainlink Oracle. This allows each player’s NFT appearance to change in an automated manner based upon the pre-set achievements that are written into the Galaxis smart contract.”

Furthermore, participants will have an equal opportunity to mint any player because the NFTs will be assigned transparently and randomly using Chainlink VRF. The report noted:

“The Association NFTs are being issued in a blind-mint, meaning that nobody will know which 2022 NBA Playoffs player they will receive prior to the reveal on April 22nd.”

The rollout of these digital assets coincides with the release of an NFT collection by the Golden State Warriors, one of the playoff teams.

The 2022 Playoff NFT Collection by Golden State Warriors has 2,000 limited NFTs minted on the Solana network using crypto exchange FTX.

NFTs are touted as game-changers that are revolutionising different sectors. For instance, the Dubai Police recently rolled out a set of NFTs comprising 150 free digital assets as part of a campaign to showcase security, innovation, and communication values.

Therefore, the Dubai Police became the first government entity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop digital assets to enhance policing.

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NBA champion Andre Iguodala to Accept Salary Payment in Bitcoin

by Blockchain News

American basketball player Andre Iguodala, who plays for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, tweeted Monday that he will accept bitcoin as a salary.

Andre Iguodala, a three-time NBA champion with an annual salary of $2.647 million, has become the latest celebrity to accept cryptocurrency as a salary.

Iguodala said on his Twitter that Warriors player Klay Thompson and I are both staunch bitcoin supporters. And will withdraw a portion of Bitcoin (BTC) from annual salary withdrawals through Block’s (formerly Square) Cash app.

Iguodala added that he will also give away $1 million worth of BTC to fans to increase cryptocurrency adoption.

Paying salaries in the form of cryptocurrencies seems to have become a trending option, some government officials also choose to use cryptocurrencies as partial or full salary payments.

As reported by Blockchain.News on November 3, Francis Suarez, an American attorney and politician serving as the 43rd Mayor of Miami, announced on Twitter on Tuesday that his next salary will be received in Bitcoin (BTC).

National Football League’s star Odell Beckham Jr has become the latest high-profile athlete to accept his salary in Bitcoin from his team Los Angeles Rams.

Aaron Rodgers, the American football quarterback of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), said on Twitter that he is firmly optimistic about the future of bitcoin and will accept bitcoin as part of his salary.

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3x NBA champion Andre Iguodala becomes the latest athlete to receive salary in crypto

by Cointelegraph

On Monday afternoon, Andre Iguodala, three-time NBA champion and the professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors, announced via Twitter that he would be taking a portion of his estimated $2.647 million annual salary in Bitcoin (BTC). In addition, Iguodala added that he will give out $1 million worth in BTC to fans to increase the digital currency’s adoption. Payments were said to be facilitated by Block’s (formerly Square) Cash App.

Iguodala joins the growing list of celebrities, athletes, influencers, and government officials that are doing the same. At least seven NFL players are currently choosing crypto over cash salaries. Last year, Mayor of Miami Francis Suarez and New York City Mayor Eric Adams said they would take their paychecks in BTC, with Suarez taking it up a notch by investing in BTC with his 401(k) retirement savings as well.

Taking paychecks in BTC or other crypto could potentially benefit both employers and employees alike. For starters, companies with large percentages of international workers would not need their staff’s private banking information, nor have to make costly, slow turnaround wire transfers to make payments. In addition, it saves employees the trouble of moving their fiat funds to crypto exchanges for investments as they can readily swap the digital currencies they receive for the one they wish. Volatility issues are also easily resolved. Employees who are skeptical or bearish on coins’ near-term movements can simply exchange their crypto paycheck to stablecoins the instant they receive them via a wallet or exchange.