Dapper Labs (the creator of CryptoKitties) partnered with the NBA and NBPA to create NBA Top Shot, a digital collectible and ecosystem built on the Flow blockchain. This article is a brief primer on NBA Top Shot, and will catch you up to speed on what it is.

What Is NBA Top Shot?

NBA Top Shot is an officially-licensed digital collectible of on-court basketball highlights. When the best plays happen on a basketball court, Dapper Labs works with the NBA to transform them into Moments — digital collectibles that fans can find in Packs, shop for in a Marketplace, or earn as Rewards.

Owning these Moments gives you ownership of that specific collectible, each is limited edition that is minted and verified on the Flow blockchain. Your Moments can be used to play weekly games, earn Rewards, meet NBA players, win NBA tickets, connect with other fans, climb competitive leaderboards and document your favorite teams and players’ most impressive achievements and performances. 

Released in open beta in October 2020, NBA Top Shot quickly set new sales records for digital collectibles and onboarded hundreds of thousands of people to the world of NFTs for the first time. Top athletes like LeBron James, Ja Morant, Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson,  Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo have had their Moments purchased for tens of thousands of dollars, and over one billion dollars in total Marketplace activity has occurred on Top Shot since it launched. 

What Determines The Value of NBA Top Shot Moments?

Like any collectible, the value of an NBA Top Shot Moment is based on scarcity, desirability and the demand someone has to own it. Each Top Shot Moment consists of a Player, their Highlight, a Tier of scarcity (ranging from Common to Legendary), a Set (a themed collection of Moments) and other factors that make it unique. Badges help define special significance, like Moments from a player’s Rookie, Championship or MVP season, or their Top Shot Debut, which defines their first Moment ever. Every Moment belongs to a set, and the vast majority of Moments are distributed through Pack Drops which occur throughout the course of an NBA season. 

The NBA Top Shot Sets exist in 4 tiers of scarcity. 95.8% of Moments are Common, which means these are easy to come across and there are lots of them. Fandom Moments, which are based on unique encounters related to particular events and Challenges — a series of weekly and monthly games connected to NBA action — represents 2.5% of all Moments. Rare Moments make up just 1.6% of all Moments, and only 0.09% of all moments are Legendary, making them extremely hard to find and valuable.

How Do I Collect More NBA Top Shot Moments?

You can purchase Moments on secondary marketplaces like Gaia, and can choose the specific one you want depending on what your budget is. You can also collect more Moments by opening Packs on NBA Top Shot, exploring Top Shot’s Marketplace, or taking part in Challenges on NBA Top Shots, which are weekly games that offer new Moments as Rewards by meeting different requirements dictated by on-court NBA action.

Where Can I Store My NBA Top Shot?

Your Top Shot Moments’ ownership is documented on the Flow blockchain, which Dapper Labs created using the lessons learned from the CryptoKitties experience. The ownership of these digital valuables and their transaction history are made public to all parties and easily verifiable thanks to the blockchain. The ownership records for NBA Top Shot are accessible to everyone with access to the blockchain, making everything transparent.

Conclusion

Similar to typical sports trading cards, NBA Top Shot Moments have a Play (such a dunk or steal), a Set, and a Serial number for each Moment. NBA Top Shot Moments have a thriving secondary market where fans can buy, sell, and exchange these digital collectibles. NBA Top Shot allows you to own the greatest basketball moments in a fully digital, tradable form and encourages participation by providing a variety of mini-games and challenges. It is a revolutionary new basketball collectibles platform licensed by the NBA and NBPA, and will continue to be seen as the pioneer for bringing professional sports to the blockchain.

Buy your first (or next) NBA Top Shot Moment on Gaia now!

Disclaimer: This is an article regarding a secondary collection on Gaia. The IP mentioned in this article is separate from Gaia and NFTG.