What's up followers! cryptokib here. Been a long time since my last article, hope you guys are staying safe 🦠😷. Don't forget to wash those 🤲, clean those 💻 and those 📱! I have a special treat today for those of you who love sports and NFTs.
2020 is going to be a big year, maybe a big decade, for cryptocollectibles. Various movements in the market and the realm of business have demonstrated that the pleasure of collecting items for fun, especially when they are official items, is moving to the digital plane in a mainstream way that will finally let blockchain shine. Among the more current examples you'll find the recent relaunch of Nifty Gateway as a premium marketplace for digital NFT collectibles by well known artists. No doubt a bid to compete with SuperRare, who at the start of December 2019 saw 456 ETH ($65,000 USD at the time) in trades in one week! You may have also heard about WAX's partnership with Topps, who together will soon bring us NFT trading cards of everything from WWE to Star Wars. That follows Panina America's launch of blockchain-connected sports trading cards less than six months ago.
Another announcement that made headlines in the blockchain industry was Dapper Labs' partnership with UFC. Dapper Labs, for those who don't know, are the makers of Crypto Kitties. While that's exciting, let's not forget that Dapper has already had a project brewing behind the scenes for some time called NBA Top Shot, an NFT experience officially licensed by the NBA. The NBA keeps its blockchain adoption agenda far from secret, going so far as to send a representative to speak on a panel at NFT.nyc 2020, however so far Dapper Labs has managed to keep all details about the Top Shot app completely hush hush.
www.nbatopshot.com
But some job descriptions posted for open positions through AxiomZen, one of Dapper Labs' main investors, may shed some more light on the experience we will soon enjoy.
- Assistant Live Operations Producer - Sports Games Franchises
- Senior / Lead Games Producer, NBA
- Senior UI Designer - NBA Top Shot
- Senior UI Designer, Design Systems - NBA Top Shot (Contract)
The first thing we can learn from the language of the job descriptions is that Dapper Labs is investing due thought and diligence in their partnership with the NBA. They are looking to recruit people who are not only technically capable for the positions, but are also serious about sports in general and the NBA in particular.
We also now know for certain, if we didn't before, that NBA Top Shot will be one of the first, if not THE first, dapp on the new Flow blockchain. It also appears that it will be accessible on desktop, web and mobile.
Regarding Top Shot specifically, looks like the NFTs will be composed of epic "moments" that occured in-game. Considering that there is only so much a digital file can include, we can maybe assume that this will be either an image or a video of a few seconds. Maybe it will even be a 3D image of some sort. From the description, it can be understood that these moments can be historical in nature, for example from the Chicago Bulls' 1996 Finals victory, but they can also be from a game that took place less than 24 hours ago. Such is the role of the Assistant Live Operations Producer:
As a Live Operations Producer on the team, you will be responsible for partnering with team leaders to create each collectible using content provided by multiple partners. You will assemble content, verify it for accuracy and deliver it to fans around the world. This is a year round process that requires a dedicated expert to monitor live NBA games and assemble content in realtime. This work happens as games are played in the evenings and on weekends and is time sensitive. An extensive knowledge of all 30 NBA teams’ rosters along with a keen attention to detail is required to be fully successful.
Will Top Shot be only about buying and selling unique "NBA art". Not necessarily. There are hints in the descriptions that point to there being some sort of game experience or element to it, as mentioned in the original press release. This approach fits with some of the NBA's other blockchain projects, like the experience the Sacramento Kings are building in partnership with Blockparty.
One way or another, if you're a sports fan and a blockchain lover, these are exciting times! See you soon!
cryptokib
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