The force behind Bitcoin and Ethereum has invaded the NBA, in the form of NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens. These little pieces of virtual merchandise have taken the league by storm, and private NFT marketplace Top Shot is leading the charge. NBA players are huge fans of the NFT craze, with Tyrese Haliburton and Mike Conley counted among those that are fascinated by this new revenue stream. In fact, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers has already planted his flag in the NFT marketplace.

However, a new development with Top Shot has risen, and customers aren't very happy with it. See, the value of an NFT is in its unique coding, meaning that the owner of one truly has a 1-of-1 type of item, backed by blockchain security. Specifically, Top Shot's NFT's have sold out on the primary market in hours and minutes, with resale prices skyrocketing. But customers have been complaining loudly about how long it takes for them to wait for their payout from sales, which often run into the thousands. Throw in numerous times where the Top Shot marketplace has gone down due to the amount of traffic on it, and customers are none too happy.

Don't tell that to NBA players though — they've enjoyed this new NFT craze. Haliburton has been particularly vocal about how much he has bonded with both teammates and opponents over Top Shots:

“We have a lot of dialogue about it on a daily basis, and we mess around about it all the time,” Haliburton said. “Like somebody makes a big play in a game and like, we'll just come over and be like, ‘Yo, Top Shot that.'”

Or, as he eloquently summed it up:

“Two things every NBA player loves is money and basketball,” Haliburton said. “So it all comes together in one, you know?”

In what has been a strange season, to say the least, mostly devoid of fans and any pregame or postgame contact between players, it's nice to see them find ways to bond safely as the season progresses.