Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) is either slam-dunking, alley-ooping or between-legs dribbling its way into crypto and the metaverse – pick your favourite basketball move.

The NBL has today announced a partnership and multi-year agreement with NFT/crypto firms BlockTrust, ePlays and Tracksuit Group. It’s a union that aims to help spread the NFT love to Aussie basketball fans.

According to info shared with Stockhead, the partnership will allow fans to “engage with the NBL in a new and exciting way, through Discord channels, NFTs [non-fungible tokens], digital collectibles, and more”.

The partnership will develop the NBL’s upcoming “web3 marketplace” known as Chainz, providing fans with a dedicated app that will serve as an entry point into the NBL metaverse and their “personal web3 world”.

(In case you didn’t know, by the way, “web3” is the term used within crypto circles to describe the next generation of the internet, built on blockchain/crypto rails.)

The app will include an NFT wallet element for buying, trading and showcasing NBL NFTs, as well as a “strong community component” and a location for the NBL and its partners to airdrop “digital and real-life benefits”. 

NBL collectibles will also be compatible with the Dapper wallet, which is a gateway into the Flow blockchain – home of the NBA Top Shot digital collectibles/NFT platform. 

 

Targeting ‘a whole new legion’ of supporters

The Chainz website provides a brief summary of the sorts of proposed benefits designed for fans who get involved with the NBL’s metaversal foray.

This includes: “collecting moments and participating in challenges” to win Chainz merch and discounts; interaction opportunities with players at the game or online; access to exclusive events; and Chainz governance functionality.

Source: chainz.basketball.com.au

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger believes that the basketball league’s foray into the metaverse and things non fungible will help to bring “a whole new legion of supporters” to the sport.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be stepping into the metaverse with ePlays, BlockTrust and separately the Tracksuit Group,” said Loeliger, adding:

“The digital universe space provides NBL fans a new way to engage with the league. As one of the fastest-growing sports in Australia, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to grow our audience.”

For more info, head to the NBL’s Chainz website.