NBA Top Shot started as a curiosity for players and fans that has rapidly become a trending topic across the country over the past month.
Why pay and try to collect players’ highlights? That’s a question players and fans initially asked when they could go on YouTube and just watch them. Over the past couple of weeks, however, several NBA players have taken up Top Shot as a hobby and learned it can be an investment opportunity while increasing their engagement with fans in the process. Since then, players have tweeted about Top Shot more often, and it’s become a conversation starter on and off the court.
“For some reason, a lot of f*cking moments are against the Pelicans,” New Orleans guard Josh Hart told HoopsHype while laughing. “Either someone scoring against the Pelicans, Rudy Gobert blocking my damn layup, or some bullsh*t like that. We played the Jazz. I think Gobert’s getting into it (Top Shot). He had a dunk. It wasn’t on me, but I was in the general vicinity, and he knows I do Top Shot. He looked at me while we were running back and he said like, ‘There’s a Top Shot moment right there.’ I was like, ‘Ah, f*ck you.’”
A few days later, Hart had a conversation with teammate Zion Williamson that provided a glimpse into the financial impact Top Shot can have.
“We were going through a walkthrough in San Antonio, and somebody was trying to sell me one of Zion’s moments,” Hart explained. “I think he wanted like $7,500 or something like that. I showed Zion the price of how much people are selling his moments and a lot of them were putting astronomical numbers there. The amount of money people spend on his moments is crazy. I showed him that the other day and he was like, ‘What the f*ck?’ Maybe we can get him on there at one point.”
In addition to Hart, HoopsHype spoke with Kings two-time Rookie of the Month Tyrese Haliburton, Hornets guard Terry Rozier, Magic guard Terrence Ross, G League player Malcolm Miller, and others to learn more about Top Shot’s financial impact on the players and how it’s changing the game.