Scottie Pippen is now a Web3 bull.
The former Chicago Bulls star recently shared that he acquired his first custom-made NFT, a pixelated picture of himself in his iconic #33 jersey. The NFT was developed as part of a new deal between Pippen and the Arbitrum-based NFT project Smolverse. Shortly after getting his Smolverse NFT, Pippen took another step into the metaverse.
On Twitter, “Pip” shared that another NFT caught his eye — digital sneakers. The digital sneakers were launched last year by Under Armour to celebrate Steph Curry’s NBA all-time record for 3-point shots. Other than serving as a display NFT, the shoes also double as an in-game wearable asset in multiple metaverses: Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Town Star.
NFT pickups were just one part of Pippen’s journey deep down the Web3 rabbit hole. On Twitter, the six-time NBA champion has been following NFT accounts, joining Twitter Spaces, and engaging with the NFT community. And the community has embraced him.
Web3-savvy fans have been tweeting at the basketball legend, sharing special memories, and creating fan art. Most notably, Loser Club artist J’Von created a custom Scottie Pippen PFP for the NBA Hall of Famer.
Scottie Pippen may have retired from the NBA in 2008. But based on his involvement in Web3, two things are clear: he’s still beloved by fans and he’s still very bullish.
NBA Royalty in NFTs
Scottie Pippen isn’t the only NBA legend getting involved in NFTs. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered the biggest moves of both current and former players. Here are three you should know about:
First, Magic Johnson partnered with NBA Top Shot to release an NFT collection. “Anthology: Magic Johnson” is a collection of 16,000 packs featuring important moments from the Hall of Famer. The packs were split into different rarity tiers and cost $399 each.
Next, LeBron James filed NFT trademarks. Of the four trademarks filed, one was for the legendary tagline: Strive for Greatness. The phrase was filed to be used for NFTs and cryptographic tokens, clothing and apparel, and NFT consulting-related services. With the trademarks, King James will be able to mint, create, promote, and distribute NFTs to fans and collectors.
Lastly, Michael Jordan entered the metaverse with his own NFT collection. MJ’s debut collection, 6 Rings, has 5,005 NFTs picturing a bull with rings decorating its horns. The NFTs pay homage to the basketball legend’s historic career, which is arguably the greatest of all time.
One thing that’s not up for debate is that Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, LeBron James, and Magic Johnson are basketball royalty. And with their moves in Web3, it won’t be long before they’re making NFT royalties — if they’re not doing so already.