The NBA is stepping up its crypto game.
The pro basketball league today announced that Coinbase will be the exclusive cryptocurrency platform partner of the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and USA Basketball.
Coinbase will have a brand presence featured during nationally televised games, the first being at tonight’s tip-off of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary season. The company will also become the presenting partner of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup and the USA Basketball men’s and women’s national team exhibition tours, as well as a partner of NBA G League Ignite.
“As a trusted cryptocurrency platform used by millions, Coinbase is a natural fit as the NBA’s first-ever partner in this thriving category,” Kerry Tatlock, senior VP of global marketing partnerships and media for the NBA, said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with Coinbase to provide fans with new ways to engage with the league and each other, while also enhancing the experience for fans who are already Coinbase users.”
As part of the NBA partnership, which was negotiated by Wavemaker, Coinbase will provide content, innovations, activations and experiences to educate fans on the crypto-economy. But this isn’t the NBA’s first experience with the crypto space. In 2019, the franchise launched the NBA Top Shot with Dapper Labs, a digital platform where fans could collect and trade NFTs of moments in the league. As of October of this year, Top Shots has generated more than $706.86 million in sales volume, according to DappRadar, which tracks NFT sales.