LaMelo Ball not only established himself as a premier young star in this league after coming home with Rookie of the Year honors, but he is establishing himself as a big name in other areas, which is the NFT business, as his four-tiered set of NFT basketball collectibles hit several early milestones, according to Jeremiah Long, Director of Product, Dallas Weekly.
The Gold Sun Evolve NFT, Ball’s top offering, was limited to 500 editions, as the winner of that will also receive a pair of autographed sneakers he wore during a triple-double performance during his rookie season, a signed jersey, signed collectible card, guaranteed $750+ in endorsement deal rewards, guaranteed official LaFrance merchandise, chances to win NBA game tickets, 50% chance to get autographed memorabilia and exclusive access to scheduled group chats with Ball.
Given Ball’s early success and that he’s expected to be a superstar point guard in the league for years to come, investing in Ball’s NFT’s could be a worthwhile investment for those potentially interested.
Ball’s partners in the launch, Playground Studios, are planning to have additional dynamic collectibles to keep fans and collectors invested over time. Future rewards could include: Rebounds, 3-pointer shots, memorable plays, Championship, MVP, All-Star game appearances, etc.
“The fan experience is two-fold; first, with tiered tokens ranging in value from ~$25 to ~$7500, fans can financially ‘invest’ in Melo’s performance on a decentralized basis at the amount most fitting to them. Then, because Melo has a decentralized record of who has invested in him, he can award them over time with randomized gifts/lotteries or direct access to himself, depending on the token holder’s tier. We’ve been intentional about keeping the tokens accessible at roughly the price of a t-shirt — so just about anybody can afford some level of access.” – Playground Studios Co-Founder, Sher Chaudhary.
In the world of NFT’s, investing in Ball could be a great move for the long haul. Ball has proven to be a terrific scorer and playmaker early on in his career, and in an era where point guards are the most important part of a team, the accolades Ball can achieve are endless.
Fans will get to invest in a potential future MVP’s career early on and get access to exclusive perks.
In his rookie season, Ball has already been able to put up career-highs of 34 points and 12 assists. Some NBA stars, past or present, have gone years before being able to put up numbers like that in a single game.
Heck, John Stockton put up 34 points just once in his career, and he’s appeared in over 1,500 games over the course of his legendary career. It’s worth noting that Stockton also put up a career-high 28 assists in one of those games, which will be much more difficult for Ball or any player to put up in a given night.
Having said all of that, there’s a good chance that Ball will be in the conversation as one of the best point guards we’ve ever seen one day, so if you’re looking into an NFT to invest in, this one is not a bad choice.