The 2023-24 regular season was one for the books, and the playoffs are in full swing. As we gear up for an epic third round, it’s time to dive into the mailbag and provide some insights about Top Shot. Let’s dive right in:
This season has been the best one yet, but I can’t help but notice it’s nearly impossible for me to compete for the best Moments of the season via Challenges or Leaderboards. In general, what are other things you guys are thinking about to get Common collectors more excited?
The arrival of Burn Leaderboards has been a game changer for us, enhancing our ability to distribute high-end content while providing added utility for premium Moments in collectors’ hands. In recent months, with the addition of volume-based Leaderboards, we’ve added a path to providing utility for lower-end Moments as well.
We’ve been setting aside prizing for Flash Leaderboards and Quick Rip Burn Leaderboards, in which the criteria are looser than our typical Burn Leaderboards. Our focus here is to encourage more competition and create more impactful engagement for collectors than through Trade Ticket drops, though those will continue to run as well.
Of course, Fast Break has also been a significant addition to the product from an engagement standpoint. This game allows collectors to use Common Moments to build their lineups while providing added utility at the higher tiers.
Tell us more about growth. Are you seeing promising signs? What’s your strategy to grow the product?
Ultimately, we know the better we make the product, the easier it will be for us to grow. We strongly believe that building the best product—where the collectibles, game design and economy complement each other rather than operate against each other—will lead to the most word of mouth and positive sentiment from our collector base.
We know there’s a lot more to do here and we'll dive in a bit more below.
What are the latest plans with end-of-season Leaderboards? I’ve been collecting rookies and All-NBA players all season. What do I need to know?
Great question. We provided a deep-dive rundown of all end-of-season rewards last week. You can find it here!
Now that we’re in the Playoffs, how would you assess this season from your team’s perspective? What went well? What needs improvement?
We set out last summer as a team with a number of goals for the product, and we feel good about our progress. Still, we know we have a lot of work to do and know we’re just scratching the surface of the experience we envision for our collectors long term. Let’s dive deeper:
High End Collectibles Market
For the first time in a long time, we have observed that the high-end collectible market on NBA Top Shot is both more valuable and more liquid at the end of the season than it was early in the season.
Among NBA legends’ grails (as defined by Rare, Legendary, and Top Shot Debut Moments) from players with 3+ MVPs (regular season and/or Finals), we observed a 4% increase in average highest offer across all editions from December 1 to today.
Among NBA superstars’ grails (as defined by Rare and Legendary Moments from last year’s All-NBA players), we observed a 50% increase in the highest offer across their Moments and a 43% increase in the lowest ask.
Among the top rookies in the era of Top Shot, their Top Shot Debut Moments have collectively seen an increase in Lowest Ask by 16% since December 1.
We are focused on delivering a stable and desirable high-end market. While we’re not close to where we want to be, we are increasingly seeing reasons to believe we’re on the right track.
Other data points that give us room for optimism:
In the fourth quarter of 2023, 135 unique collectors spent more than $1,000 on average each week. In the first quarter of 2024, that number increased to 241 unique collectors (a 78% increase).
It’s clear that engagement levers like Burn Leaderboards, Locking Leaderboards, and Locking Challenges have effectively provided strong utility for holding the best collectibles.
Accessibility
The advent of Team Packs has been a game changer for our new collector offerings on NBA Top Shot. Since November 2023, we’ve seen a 5x increase in conversion rate (as defined by first-time site visitor to first purchaser). We still believe there’s massive room for improvement here and have started experimentation with players-specific packs and other unique offerings. As this conversion rate continues to improve, our confidence in our ability to bring new collectors to the product sustainably increases.
Retention
Since January 1st, 27,000+ unique collectors have purchased a pack or Moment on NBA Top Shot.
We believe we have a massive opportunity to turn the passive collectors into more active collectors, and those who’ve made a purchase this year are prime candidates to get more involved in Fast Break and other offerings/experiences that only Top Shot can offer.
Growth
This is the area where we feel we have the most room for improvement and will be a top priority for next season and beyond. This season was important to restore confidence in the high-end collectible market and provide consistency to the weekly Top Shot experience.
Now that we’ve shown signs of promise on both fronts, we’re turning our attention to bigger ideas and opportunities for next season that'll help us bring more collectors to the product in ways that'll resonate with fans around the world.
Thanks for all the questions. Stay tuned for our next mailbag where we’ll cover even more. If you have a question you’d like answered, email mailbag@nbatopshot.com.
