There was a time where players looked forward to meeting at half-court after a hard-fought game and exchanged jerseys to display the mutual respect they had for each other's games. Now, the technological world that we live in today has created the concept of NBA Top Shot, which are virtual sports cards that can be bought and auctioned online, via James Dator of SBNation.
Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee and Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier made sure that they would exchange NBA Top Shots after the game:
Yoooo @T_Rozzay3 !! We play y’all in The Bay tonight.
Instead of a jersey swap, what you think about swapping @nba_topshot moments post game?! 👀😈
— Damion Lee (@Dami0nLee) February 26, 2021
Yuppp let’s do it my guy 💪🏾
— Terry Rozier (@T_Rozzay3) February 26, 2021
These sports cards have highlights of players rather than an action shot of the player himself, and certain highlights could be rarer than others. Top Shots have become a hot commodity in the NBA World, as the Top Shots of Zion Williamson and LeBron James sold for $100,000 last week, according to Dator.
These e-collectibles will compete against tangible sports cards and jersey swaps amongst players in the coming years, but only time will tell how successful they will be in the long run. Sports fans have long been used to collecting and trading sports cards of their favorite players in their best seasons, some valued to be thousands of dollars. The concept of owning a unique highlight of a player that only a limited amount of people in the world piggyback's off of the idea of there being only so many sports cards circulating in the world.
It won't be long before NBA players meet at half-court with their phones and exchange Top Shots instead of jerseys, trading for an unbelievable LeBron James dunk or a Stephen Curry turn around three.
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