Every February for the next five years, a small group of NBA Top Shot collectors and their guests will get to play basketball with an NBA legend on the court of the NBA All-Star Game.
Their ticket to that experience, and a series of other VIP events and signature NBA All-Star games and contests, is a 1-of-1 NFT created by NBA Top Shot and the NBA to celebrate the league’s 75th anniversary and demonstrate the role technology plays in the future of fandom.
By owning an NBA All-Star VIP Pass NFT, fans will get unparalleled access to every NBA All-Star event in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027, with a pair of lower bowl tickets to the NBA All-Star Game, Clorox Rising Stars Game, AT&T Slam Dunk Contest, MTN DEW 3-Point Contest and Taco Bell Skills Challenge. For each winner, each year, there’s also team-specific VIP merch bags, NBA All-Star jerseys, behind-the-scenes looks at All-Star planning, photo opportunities, arena tours and personalized annual itineraries.
In addition to that practical IRL utility, each NFT also comes with 51 NBA Top Shot packs (25 Elite Packs, 25 Standard Packs, and 1 2021 All-Star Game Pack) delivered once (in 2022), a permanent 25,000 point Collector Score Bonus, a spend-based drop bonus and access to NBA Top Shot’s VIP Concierge program through 2027.
Unlocking access to all of those benefits is straightforward; outbid the competition in an auction dedicated to each of the NBA’s 30 teams.
The average winning bid of the 13 auctions that have ended so far is $43,338 (or 16.75 ETH, as of 9:50pm EST on March 14, 2022), with the Golden State Warriors 1-of-1 NFT going for a record-high $58,500, the Los Angeles Clippers ($54,000) edging out the Los Angeles Lakers ($51,000), the Miami Heat selling for $42,069.69, the Orlando Magic selling for $41,077, and the Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns all closing at $41,000.
Each auction has been an experience in and of itself, with some going overtime for 2+ hours after the 8pm EST closing time, as each bid in the final 10 minutes adds 10 minutes to the clock and members of the community fight for the right to own this piece of NBA history.
The participants have brought some surprises, too.
While some are established members of the NBA Top Shot and NFT community, we’ve seen others who have created their NBA Top Shot account in the last week and made deposits in excess of $40,000, ripping their first Starter Pack in the process of attempting to win a fierce bidding war for the most exclusive collectible we’ve ever created.
In an unexpected twist, one group within the NBA Top Shot community has been dominating these auctions; holders of a complete Cool Cats Set, also known as the Nine Lives Lounge. 6 of the first 8 winning bids have come from NLL members.
The remaining two winning bids actually belong to one user, who snagged the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns NFTs in back-to-back nights, and in the process, secured themselves 4 tickets to all of these events for the next 5 years, plus 102 NBA Top Shot packs and a 50,000 point Collector Score boost.
There are only 31 total 1-of-1 NBA All-Star VIP Pass NFTs that will ever exist, and only 22 remain available as of now. Eight have been won via auction and one was won via sweepstakes, with over 61,000 people entering for their chance to win this incredible package for free. The sweepstakes winner has been selected and notified, and will be announced soon.
NBA TOP SHOT X NBA ALL-STAR VIP PASS NFTS
When the NBA approached us to partner on this amazing initiative to celebrate the history and future of the league, we were excited by the opportunity to demonstrate how NFTs can represent unique utility. In the process, the NBA Top Shot team were able to finish building and shipping new features that have been in various stages of development.
These NFTs mark:
- The first 1-of-1 NFTs made available for purchase on NBA Top Shot
- The first auction to take place on NBA Top Shot
- The first time a “bid” was made and received on NBA Top Shot
Once the clock expires and the winning bid is finalized, each NFT is minted and delivered to the fan’s NBA Top Shot account in a new dedicated section of their profile called “VIP NFTs” and a VIP Pass Owner badge is added to their name. Then, the funds are transferred from their Dapper Wallet, completing the auction and minting experience.
Shortly after all 30 auctions conclude, a new marketplace section will be added to NBA Top Shot where users can list each 1-of-1 NFT for sale if they’d like.
If they choose to keep the NFTs, each year they’ll be delivered the tickets tied to the NFT, which they can choose to keep or sell outside of the NFT itself.
As the auctions unfold, we’re excited to see how friends, DAOs, and other members of the NFT community approach these 1-of-1 NFTs in creative ways to secure and potentially share the five-years of VIP NBA action they provide.
In the future, we are excited to integrate this auction and bidding functionality into the core NBA Top Shot marketplace experience, but there is no specific timeline for those features that we can share with you today.
REMAINING NBA ALL-STAR VIP PASS NFT AUCTIONS
For the rest of March, an auction will conclude each night. We look forward to seeing which members of our community win and how they each unfold. No matter what happens, one thing is for sure; the next five-years at NBA Top Shot will be special, and this is just the beginning of how we’re going to unlock access to NBA experiences in innovative new ways with different levels of accessibility.
Washington Wizards: Winning Bid $40,069
Atlanta Hawks: Winning Bid $40,000
Memphis Grizzlies: Winning Bid $40,000
New Orleans Pelicans: Winning Bid $40,000
San Antonio Spurs: Winning Bid, $43,420.69
Houston Rockets: Current Bid $36,000, ending at 8pm EST on March 15
Dallas Mavericks – Current Bid $12,000 at 8pm EST on March 16
Milwaukee Bucks — Live on March 10 at 8pm EST
Indiana Pacers — Live on March 11 at 8pm EST
Cleveland Cavaliers — Live on March 12 at 8pm EST
Detroit Pistons — Live on March 13 at 8pm EST
Chicago Bulls — Live on March 14 at 8pm EST
Oklahoma City Thunder — Live on March 15 at 8pm EST
Utah Jazz — Live on March 16 at 8pm EST
Portland Trailblazers — Live on March 17 at 8pm EST
Denver Nuggets — Live on March 18 at 8pm EST
Minnesota Timberwolves — Live on March 19 at 8pm EST
Boston Celtics — Live on March 20 at 8pm EST
Toronto Raptors — Live on March 21 at 8pm EST
Philadelphia 76ers — Live on March 22 at 8pm EST
Brooklyn Nets — Live on March 23 at 8pm EST
New York Knicks — Live on March 24 at 8pm EST
If you’re interested in participating in any auction and need help onboarding new funds in an expedited manner, please reach out to our VIP team or visit our FAQ to answer any questions you may have.
