7 mins readNBA Top Shot is a revolutionary NFT marketplace that allows basketball enthusiasts to buy, sell, and trade exclusive digital collectibles. With its wide selection of items such as memorabilia cards featuring iconic players and moments from the past to limited edition prints depicting legendary plays within the game – there's something for every collector in this unique platform!
Source: Official Website
These collectibles, known as Moments, are NFTs of NBA video clips and digital art that vary according to their rarity. Put simply, users have the opportunity to acquire a Luka Dončić three-pointe or LeBron James dunk depending on which ones are available at any given time!
How does NBA Top Shot work?
The innovative NBA Top Shot marketplace is officially approved and supported by the almighty NBA, its Players Association as well as Dapper Labs. All powered and operated on FLOW blockchain - a revolutionary ledger created to extend support with next-gen games, applications and digital assets!
To summarize, the NBA Top Shot platform operates much like traditional trading cards. The NBA took the initiative to grant Dapper Labs access to their stunning reels and digital art pieces, from which Moments were fashioned into non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Every Moment is accompanied by a one-of-a-kind serial number that certifies its authenticity and rarity. The Dapper Labs team has taken this idea to the next level, manufacturing only a small amount of NFTs for each moment to guarantee scarcity in the market. Because of this strategy, some moments are more valuable than others due to their limited availabilty - making certain Moments much cheaper in valuation compared to rarer ones.
The NBA Top Shot website explains that:
“Each moment is secured by the blockchain, meaning your Moment is Unique and Licensed by the NBA and NBPA.”
Moments are available with Packs, just like traditional sports cards and have a certain Series that is released along with the NBA season. With these packs of NFT moments, fans can now access highlights from their favorite teams or players during the current season. Furthermore, they can also get rarer collectables such as Magic Johnson's dunk on May 16th 1980!
NBA Packs and Moments
In order to assemble NBA Top Shot Moments, users must navigate an intricate process; as there is no guarantee which individual Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) a purchaser will receive from the set or Pack they have purchased. This makes collecting these highly sought after Moments a challenging endeavor!
When it comes to NBA Top Shot, there are four primary Moment categories - Common, Fandom, Rare and Legendary. Additionally, you can acquire the ultimate Moment via auction. Here's a better explanation of these types:
- Common Moments: make up 95.8% of all Moments, so it's easy to find them and they're usually more affordable than other types of Moment experiences.
- Fandom Moments: from Dapper Labs offer an unparalleled level of exclusivity--they're generated off of extraordinary experiences related to particular events. For instance, the firm can make specialised Moments available only to those users who were present in-person at a certain arena. This type of real-time experience isn't something you'll find anywhere else!
- Rare Moments: representing a mere 1.6% of all Moments, these typically commemorate unforgettable and iconic plays by some of the NBA's greatest players in history.
- Legendary Moments: are scarcely available, making up only 0.09% of total Moment availability - which makes them very difficult to procure! And as you can imagine, Legendary Moments come with a greater cost than the majority of other Moments.
Source: Official Website
Dapper Labs divides the elite Moments into Packs and then categorizes them as Sets, which fall under two categories:
- Base Sets: NBA Top Shot packs are conveniently divided into Common rarity categories and released in succession according to Series. For example, the debut series generated 12 different releases with each pack including three essential Moments - perfect for those just starting their collection!
- Non-Base Sets: Unlike Base Sets, Non-Base Sets come in various forms and include at least one Common Moment as well as a Rare or Legendary Moment. This makes these sets more expensive than their base set counterparts.
Source: Official Website
Dapper Labs divides the elite Moments into Packs and then categorizes them as Sets, which fall under two categories:
How to Buy NBA Top Shot Moments?
To get started, simply sign up and complete verification in the official NBA Top Shot marketplace. With the assurance of verification, customers can use either their credit and debit cards (Visa or Mastercard) or digital wallet to purchase with Etherium, Bitcoin, USD Coin. NBA Top Shot not only allows fans to buy, sell, trade or gift packs or individual Moments but also provides a robust and vibrant second-hand marketplace.
Advantages of NBA Top Shot
- Ease of use. Anyone can easily use NBA Top Shot, courtesy of Dapper Labs' design. You don't have to know a single thing about blockchain or crypto investing; all that is required for success on the platform is an appreciation of basketball and some fairly basic financial understanding. With these two things in mind, you'll be able to navigate the marketplace like an experienced pro!
- Great collecting experience. Collecting Moments is an extraordinary experience because you never need to worry about the deterioration or theft of your cards. Not like physical trading cards, which require proper preservation and storage; digital ones are stored securely online and can't be damaged. Moreover, their authenticity has already been verified on the blockchain so there's no requirement for a costly grading process either!
- Downside protection against oversupply. NBA Top Shot safeguards against the potentiality of oversupply by minting and licensing all its Moments. In this way, it is able to regulate the supply of goods within the marketplace.
- This should help stifle flooding the market with similar items, warding off the sort of supply glut that was experienced in baseball cards during the 1990s.
- Lowers the barrier to entry for new NFT collectors. By providing an accessible platform for NFT collecting, NBA Top Shot has greatly reduced the barrier to entry that many new NFT collectors have faced in recent years. With prices of collectibles - including NFTs - skyrocketing, this opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
Disadvantages of NBA Top Shot
- Lengthy verification process. Dapper Lab's rigorous authentication process can be a detriment to collectors seeking to take advantage of fast sales. As the values of Moments are continuously subject to change, any delays could result in a significant financial loss.
- Risk of losing money. Every investment holds the risk of losing money, even with NBA Top Shot's NFTs. Unfortunately, some collectors have experienced buying packs to only find out that the Moments inside are worth less than what was paid for them. Plus, there’s no certainty that you will be able to offload your Moment at its asking price - buyers can be hard to come by. Therefore it's important for any collector or investor of Top Shots' NFTs to weigh up all risks before entering into this potential area of profit-making and entertainment.
- NFT values depend on market demand. NBA Top Shot’s Moments, much like all NFTs, are only as valuable as what someone is willing to pay for them. These digital assets have no genuine intrinsic value - the fate of their worth lies in the hands of basketball fans across the globe. As such, it's impossible to anticipate when prices will change dramatically and suddenly devalue certain previously sought-after Moments.
Should You Buy Top Shot Moments?
If you're a passionate NBA fan and believe in the long-term success of players, Top Shot's marketplace and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), investing into this crypto trend could be your ticket to financial gains. Other than the opportunity to gain financially from NBA basketball, those who are authentically fervent about collecting Highlights and Moments of their preferred players can also derive immense pleasure from this pastime.
For those wanting to diversify their portfolio holdings, taking up an NFT may be wise. And if you're new to crypto and NFTs but are interested in them, then NBA Top Shot could be ideal - simple usage combined with immense accessibility makes this option cool!
Although many collectibles, including NFTs, can be highly volatile in terms of their value. Put another way, a LeBron dunk NFT could easily become as extraneous and outmoded as yesterday's Beanie Babies.
