The NBA introduces The Association, a collection of 18,000 non-fungible tokens (NFT) whose characteristics will change according to players’ statistics during the Playoffs. In total, 75 editions of 240 players for 16 different teams will be available for exchange by basketball fans.
NBA unveils dynamic NFT concept
As of 6pm Paris time, the National Basketball Association (NBA) will allow 18,000 fans to mine its new collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) for free.
Fans will only have to pay the transaction fee on the Ethereum blockchain (ETH) and will receive one of 75 random editions of 240 different players. A total of 16 teams will be represented in this collection, the content of which will be revealed on April 22.
INTRODUCING THE NFT ASSOCIATION: https://t.co/S7iinI4CDt pic.twitter.com/r1XVJRppKy
– NBAxNFT (@NBAxNFT) April 19, 2022
The statistics of the various copies of NFT will evolve over time, following the real-life performance of the players in NBA Playoff games. The background frames may also change in colour and pattern.
While the launch of this collection costs nothing apart from the gas fee, not everyone will have the chance to participate. Indeed, the mint will be limited to one copy per person, and to be able to make one, you had to be part of an Allow list by being among the first to connect to the platform and join the project’s Discord server.
In addition, some copies will be reserved for owners of NBA Top Shot, another series of NFTs, which are videos of the most iconic baskets in the game.
A concept that drives engagement
The concept of an NFT that evolves based on real life events is not new. In terms of sports, the closest example is Sorare. It is a fantasy football game in which the performance of the players in their matches will influence the outcome and ranking in the game.
While a game similar to Sorare is not on the agenda at the moment, it is interesting to note that the NBA filed a trademark application for the name The Association on 6 April. So we can speculate that these NFTs will continue to exist and that they may be joined by others in the future.
As this type of mechanism adds value to the collection dimension, it is certain that it is a practice that will tend to be democratised in the sports domain in order to federate the fans.
