What is NBA Top Shot? 20 Facts
NBA Top Shot, as discussed over at runrex.com, is hot right now, having done over $230 million in transactions since its inception in October 2020. The last few years have seen digital currencies like cryptocurrencies grow in popularity, and the NBA is now trying to get in on the action with NBA Top Shot. Through the following 20 facts, this article will look to help you understand more about what NBA Top Shot is all about.
What is NBA Top Shot?
As pointed out by the gurus over at guttulus.com, NBA Top Shot is an online-only marketplace where users can buy, sell, and trade NBA highlights. These highlights, also known as “moments”, are owned by users through a unique number. They are like virtual sports cards, but instead of a picture of a player with statistics on the back, you get a video highlight of a play like a LeBron James dunk.
These moments come in several tiers
As revealed over at runrex.com, these moments are grouped into several tiers, which are:
Common – These are moments that can have over 1,000 digital copies, and can be purchased in Common Packs, starting at $9 for nine moments.
Rare – These are moments that can have between 150-999 digital copies, and can be found in Rare Packs and above, and were recently listed for 199.
Legendary – These are moments that can have between 25-99 digital copies, and can be found in Legendary Packs, and were recently listed for $999.
Platinum Ultimate – These are moments that have a maximum of 3 digital copies and are only available through auction.
Genesis Ultimate – These moments only have 1 digital copy and are also only available through auction.
Factors determining the prices of moments
As you can see, not every moment will fetch a high price like the LeBron James dunk. This is because prices of moments vary depending on several factors as discussed over at guttulus.com. One factor is who the player is. A dunk highlight of James will go for considerably more than one by a less known player for example. Another factor is how rare the moment is, as is articulated in the previous point.
How do you buy moments?
Users can either buy packs, like sports cards, when they come out on the Top Shot website, or they can purchase moments from other users on the marketplace. Packs are sold in extremely limited quantities every so often, which is why it is important to try to buy them when they are released.
How does the process to purchase work?
The process of purchasing these packs is similar to queuing up to buy something at any store. You have a reserved spot in a digital line based on when you click the link to purchase, and if there is still product remaining at the time your position in line comes up, you get to purchase a pack. However, once the packs are sold out, they are gone indefinitely.
Where does the NBA come into play?
If you are reading all of this and are wondering if it is legit, then you will be happy to know that all Top Shots are officially licensed by the NBA as is covered in detail over at runrex.com, which should ease any fears you have that this could be a scam.
Where does Dapper Labs come in?
As pointed out in the previous point, all Top Shots are officially licensed by the NBA. The league partnered with Dapper Labs, a company that specializes in blockchain technology as outlined over at guttulus.com, to develop NBA Top Shot.
How does Dapper Labs benefit from this deal?
The deal between Dapper Labs and the NBA is a mutually beneficial one as while the league gets the benefit of the technology, Dapper Labs takes a 5% fee for transactions according to discussions on the same over at runrex.com. Dapper Labs is, of course, also the company behind CryptoKitty, a collectible digital art form of NFT.
Does NBA Top Shot use blockchain?
Yes, NBA Top Shot uses blockchain technology. This is because, after a user purchases a collectible moment, it is stored in a Top Shot digital wallet, and this is where the blockchain technology comes into play.
What are blockchains?
Blockchains are databases of information that are linked together that can be used to record ownership or transactions of a product. Its ledger prevents a lone user from gaining control of the network and is the technology that popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum use.
Why would I pay for something I can watch for free on the internet?
As per discussions over at guttulus.com, when you buy a moment, it will probably still be available to watch online for free. However, people can also go online and print a copy of the Mona Lisa and put it in their living room. The value of the moment is whatever somebody is willing to pay for it, just as is the case for art.
What do you own when you own a moment?
From discussions on the same over at runrex.com, people who own a moment don’t own the video itself, but simply the Top Shot moment. This means that the NBA and its broadcast partners can still show video clips that are sold as moments.
Who is making money off of this?
As the gurus over at guttulus.com point out, NBA Top Shot generates revenue from pack sales and transaction fees. As already mentioned earlier, Top Shot creator Dapper Labs takes a 5% transaction fee on sales in the Top Shot marketplace, and the NBA and its players’ union get a cut of those peer-to-peer sales in the marketplace as well.
What are the payment options?
NBA Top Shot accepts payments through credit or debit cards as well as through cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash, which is something you should know about in case you intend to purchase a moment.
Is there a possibility that this market will come crashing down?
As is often the case with any sudden boost in investment toward a particular product, there is a very real possibility of a market crash as far as Top Shot is concerned. This is something that we saw with Dapper Lab’s other major project, CryptoKitties, which exploded, with one digital cat selling for more than $170,000, only for the items to plummet in value after the fad passed.
Where does NBA Top Shot have an edge over CryptoKitties?
While there is a real possibility that Top Shot could collapse as mentioned in the previous point, and discussed over at runrex.com, one area where NBA Top Shot has an edge over CryptoKitties is in the fact that it is backed by the NBA. The fact that the league and the NBPA are in direct partnership with this market lends an air of trust for some fans in the process, providing some comfort to those who have gotten involved with Top Spot.
Have there been any issues so far with NBA Top Shot?
While things have gone relatively smooth for NBA Top Shot since it was launched, there was an issue recently that upset users as covered over at guttulus.com. This is where a scheduled drop of Premium packs was postponed indefinitely and then rescheduled a day later. The good news is that when the reason behind this was put to users, the reaction was fairly positive as users understood that the postponement was done for their benefit.
The issues of bots and delays
One thing that the issue mentioned in the previous point revealed was that one of the keys to Top Shot’s future success lies in how the project handles the issue raised by bots and delays as explained over at runrex.com. This has emerged as a threat to the goodwill the project has enjoyed so far as it has emerged that there are people using computer programs to purchase products of a limited quantity within milliseconds.
What is Top Shot’s growth been like?
Given the positive sentiment towards the project, NBA Top Shot has seen good growth ever since it was launched. For example, at the start of February, Top Shot had about 50,000 users and $65 million in sales, which shot to about 88,000 users and $278 million in sales at the start of March.
The incentive of financial gain
One of the biggest incentives working in favor of NBA Top Shot is the potential for financial gain that serves to entice users. This is evidenced by the fact that one user recently sold a moment featuring LeBron James dunking on Nemanja Bjelica in 2019 for $208,000. It is this incentive for financial gain that has attracted so many new users in recent times.
This article only just begins to scratch the surface as far as this topic is concerned, with more information on the same to be uncovered by checking out the ever-reliable runrex.com and guttulus.com.