• by Colin Kirkland , September 8, 2022

This week, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced a multiyear partnership with cryptocurrency-based fantasy gaming service Sorare, making it the official NFT fantasy partner of the NBA.

Sorare allows players to buy, sell, trade, and manage a virtual team with digital player cards. Under this new partnership, the company will launch the first officially licensed free-to-play digital collectible-based fantasy basketball game.

The game will be released this fall for the NBA's 2022-23 season and will “provide fans a new opportunity to interact with the league and compete through a unique fantasy gaming experience,” the NBA stated.

In the game, fans will be able to create a lineup of NFT-based digital collectibles representing their favorite players and teams.

Points will be earned based on real-life performances of NBA players, similar to regular fantasy leagues.

Sorare will have the rights to utilize official NBA league and team logos across its products.

“Our partnership with Sorare will give NBA fans an entirely new way to engage with our teams and players,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

In a new report, marketing consultancy and research firm Market Decipher found that the sports NFT market revenue doubled in 2022, reaching $2.6 billion and achieving 100% growth. The company also estimates that the market is forecast to reach $41.6 billion by 2032, growing at an overall CAGR of 36.3%.

The new NBA game builds upon Sorare's already sizeable user base -- two million people across 185 countries. This includes markets across Europe and Asia, where the company says it is seeing rapid growth in its soccer fantasy game.

The NBA partnership marks Sorare's third with a U.S. sports league.