NBA Top Shot is the latest crypto collectible craze, whereby the most iconic moments in NBA history are captured as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NFT is a special type of cryptographic token with unique cryptographic properties. In other words, it is similar to physical collectibles like trading cards in that there is a limited supply. And NFT is becoming a worldwide phenomenon, with the NBA Top Shot leading the way.

NBA Top Shot allowed user collect moments in sport Basketball | Source: NBA Top Shot

According to data provider CryptoSlam, just last month, 100,000 people bought NBA Top Shot moments in hopes of owning their favorite star’s jump or making money by selling it for a higher price.

With increased attention, prices for NBA Top Shots also escalated. Current prices range from $14 for a Rudy Gay dunk to $240,000 for a Ja Morant dunk.

What is the NBA Top Shot Collection?

NBA Top Shot is the best example of a digital collectible card that has caught the attention of the mainstream market. You can think of them as transaction cards, but instead of being printed on the card, they are kept on the blockchain. This means you can keep them in a digital wallet and send them to others or sell them on online marketplaces.

Each Top Shot contains a historic moment in basketball, in the form of a short video clip like the tweet below.

Metallic Gold LE Challenge 19 expires in 24 hours

Collectors have until Friday, March 19 at 10am PDT to acquire all 9️⃣ required Moments to score this exclusive reward of Terry Rozier throwing down a vicious 🔨 over KD 😤

More info: https://t.co/Rkg3ro7D3t pic.twitter.com/m3Db0aWGKK

— NBA Top Shot (@nbatopshot) March 18, 2021

Similar to trading cards, there are multiple cards for each moment. Packs are released in various sizes and smaller packs increase the rarity of the card. Popular tier includes plans with 10,000 or more cards. The rarity level has packs of 150-4,999 cards and the legendary level is limited to only 25-499 cards.

In each pack, each card has its own serial number, and these can cause prices to vary greatly. For example, for a Jayson Tatum jump, the lowest price is $52; the top for the #5206 series is $28,000. As a result, there is a big difference for the same card — something to keep in mind if you’re looking to resell the card.

One ‘s pass Jayson Tatum | Source: NBA Top Shot

There are many sets of transactions. The “For The Win” series includes 10 specific moments from one of Spencer Dinwiddie’s jumps to Nemanja Bjelica’s 3-pointer. They are all rare cards.

Create an account with Dapper Labs

Unlike traditional trading cards, these collectibles are not printed and are sold in physical stores. Instead, NBA Top Shot tokens are stored on the Flow blockchain built by Dapper Labs (the team that created the NFT CryptoKitties phenomenon). So they are a bit more complicated.

First, you need to sign up for NBA Top Shot with Dapper. You can do this by clicking register on the Top Shot website. Create a Dapper account to provide you with a wallet that stores your coins and allows you to purchase crypto collectibles.

Way Dapper registration | Source: Dapper Labs

The steps to register with Dapper are quite simple. Sign in via Google or email, then provide phone number and verification. Then, Dapper will provide a code in case of losing access via the device in use. Note that users must keep this code carefully as it controls access to your account.

Begin join NBA Top Shot

After signing up with Dapper, you can go straight to NBA Top Shot and use your account to log in.

The first time you log in, you’ll be greeted with a few introductory videos before being asked if you’d like to join the NBA Top Shot channel on Discord. You can then choose the group you support.

OLDchoose your favorite team | Source: NBA Top Shot

Once logged in, you will see a randomly generated username. You can easily change your name by clicking “change username”, going to your Dapper Labs profile and choosing something that suits you better.

You can now explore the bundles on offer (which usually sell out!) and the marketplace where you can buy used trading cards. But to buy anything, you need money.

Recharge account

To purchase an NBA Top Shot moment, you need to fund your Dapper account.

You can do this by going to “Payment and Payments” on the website. Here, you choose the amount you want to put into the account; agree to Dapper’s terms and conditions. You can then pay via credit card by entering your details or in cryptocurrency. Dapper accepts Bitcoin, ETH, BCH and two stablecoins: DAI and USDC.

How to add money to Dapper account | Source: Dapper Labs

Once you’ve deposited funds into your account, you’ll need to wait for them to arrive in your wallet (cryptocurrency can sometimes be a bit slow) before you’re ready to spend it. You will also have to pay network fees when making transactions, so make sure to check how much it costs and charges (Bitcoin fees are currently around $13 per transaction).

Using the NBA Top Shot market

The market can be overwhelming, because there are thousands of Top Shot cards but there are ways to narrow down the list. You can select moments by specific teams or players and rank the cards by price.

If you want to buy a pass, you need to find a moment you like and select the serial number of that particular card. Next, click buy and pay with the money in your Dapper account.

Then what can you do with them? Well, you can store the cards and watch the moment when you want. You can even sell it or, if you’re generous, give it to a friend. What you can’t do is use Top Shot footage yourself or modify the image without permission. In fact, the NBA’s lawyers have compiled a long list of prohibitions not to do with their costly IP.

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