An NFT collector has turned down a $1 million offer for a token depicting a basketball highlight.
A collector of prized NFTs from Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shot has turned down a $1 million offer for a single token depicting New Orleans Pelicans’ pro basketball star Zion Williamson.
The collector “jerlevine” bought the #1 Jersey Match S1 Holo Zion Williamson NFT on Jan. 25 for $100,000. The token is of “legendary” rarity, and was first issued in the HOLOMMX pack during Series 1 of Top Shot.
BREAKING NEWS
We have news of the first $1 Million offer for an @nba_topshot moment!
It was for the #1 and Jersey Match S1 Holo Zion Williamson.
And @JerLevine turned it down. pic.twitter.com/j0Ct0EH7wI
— OwnTheMoment (@OwnTheMomentNFT) March 11, 2021
NBA Top Shot, a blockchain-based marketplace that allows NBA fans to purchase rare multi-media “moments” depicting key players and highlights from basketball history, has exploded in popularity in recent months, with Dapper moving to limit how many new accounts are created on the platform in response to overwhelming demand.
While tokens with low serial numbers tend to fetch higher prices, moments that feature either “#1” serials, or serials that match the jersey number of the player depicted in the NFT are the most prized. With Zion Williamson’s jersey number being #1, cards featuring him and his jersey-matching serial number are extra valuable.
Williamson is not the only player whose moments are fetching huge prices, with tokens depicting NFTs LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers recently selling for as much as $200,000, $125,000 and $80,000.
The growth of NBA Top Shot has seen collectors amass millions worth of NFTs since its soft launch in October 2020. An NFT collector named “Pranksy” started off with a $600 initial investment, which has turned into a $7 million collection of Top Shot Highlights.
The Wall Street Journal recently covered Top Shot collector Michael Levy, who spent $175,000 on a collection that is now worth roughly $20 million.
Roham Gharegozlou, chief executive of Dapper Labs told the publication the team had not been prepared for Top Shot’s explosive rise in popularity:
“We knew this was rocket fuel [..] The thing that surprised me is how quickly mainstream basketball influencers adopted it.”