What are collectibles?

Collectibles are items that are sought by after collectors, often due to their rarity or popularity. In the sports world, collectibles include items such as signed jerseys, in-game memorabilia, sneakers, trading cards and—in our generation—now include digital assets. In this article, we will explore the history and evolution of each of these categories of NBA collectibles.

A Brief History of NBA Collectibles

Jerseys and Signed Jerseys

While physically attending an NBA game is a coveted rite of passage for many fans, buying and collecting official jerseys is a way of expressing love for the game beyond the 48-minutes of playing time. Jerseys have been a source of unity and identity for teams and communities as far back as the early 20th century.

However, average basketball jerseys can be purchased almost anywhere; signed jerseys are what true collectors and superfans look to fill their man caves. Autographs have a significant impact on the resale value of the jersey—and the bigger the star is, the more rare and coveted the collectible is considered.

Price tags attached to signed jerseys are jaw-dropping. In 2021, a game-worn jersey belonging to Michael Jordan from his 1982-83 championship season at the University of North Carolina sold for $1.38M, making it the most expensive Jordan jersey sale ever. Shortly after, in May 2021, an autographed Kobe Bryant jersey broke the record for the highest-selling jersey of all time with a sale of $3.69M.

Sports Cards

After obvious items like basketball jerseys became ubiquitous in fan collections, people turned to NBA sports cards. In 1948, the first NBA sports card pack was released by Philadelphia-based manufacturer of bubble gum, Bowman Gum, and the pack included a rookie card of NBA legend George Mikan. These cards were incredibly popular in the 1940s and led to Bowman being later acquired by the now-popular Topps in 1956. Topps later released its own first set of NBA cards in 1957 with mint condition cards selling incredibly well; some cards, like Bill Russell’s, sold up to $10,000.

In 1991, sports cards got a lot more serious. The Professional Sports Authenticator, or PSA, started grading cards on a rigid system of requirements that would determine the value of each card. The standardization of trading cards allowed a more mainstream audience of collectors to understand the value of trading cards as an asset class, as well as the importance of taking care of the physical cards themselves.

Nowadays, PSA Mint 10 cards of legends like Michael Jordan are selling in the millions and the value of the market only seems to be going up. We should’ve never let our parents sell ours at a garage sale.

Sneakers

Sneakers are a common part of everyday life, but over the past few decades, we’ve seen them grow exponentially in value and become an integral part of sports fans’ collections. When did it all start? Well, we have (possibly) the greatest basketball player of all time to thank for that, Michael Jordan. In 1994, Jordan was the first to wear player-editioned (or “PE”, hint: a nod to our company name 😉) Air Jordan IXs on the court.

After that fateful moment in 1994, a new collectible was born. Michael Jordan fans went absolutely ballistic over Air Jordan sneakers, paying thousands of dollars above the bidding price in auctions for a chance to own the coveted sneaker. Since then, the sneaker collectible category has ballooned. Companies like StockX and GOAT were founded primarily for the purpose of reselling sneakers. StockX estimates that the global sneaker secondary market is worth $6 billion today!

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Digital Assets

Last, but certainly not least, we’ve seen the emergence of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, as digital collectibles. For anyone who isn’t aware, we’ll break it down: NFTs are tokens created on the blockchain that gives full, traceable ownership to the individual who purchases them through wallet verification. NFTs aren’t just art either, there are hundreds of different utilities that can draw people to buy them such as entry to closed communities, IRL meetups, staking rewards and merchandise among others.

How does this tie to sports collectibles? Sports cards or clips in the form of NFTs are very similar to owning traditional trading cards. Many believe that the fact they can’t physically hold the card or can “screenshot” the NFT makes these collectibles less valuable than traditional cards. But that’s where the beauty of the blockchain comes in. Each piece bought is verified by the blockchain, meaning each token is verifiably unique and can only be owned by one individual.

NFTs are the most recent revolution in the history of sports collectables. These digital assets have changed the game: instead of worrying about sending sports cards to PSA for review, fans can now collect and trade instantly.

What’s Next?

The history of NBA collectibles has deep roots. It seems that no matter how crazy technology gets, fans always crave connection back to their favorite players and teams. At Player Edition, we firmly believe in a future where digital and physical blends together. Just as jerseys and sneakers have done for decades, there is massive potential in digital goods in connecting and uniting communities.

About Player Edition

Player Edition is building a technology platform for athletes to launch fan communities, built on NFT technology with web3 values. Our world-class team of art, business, and technology professionals have decades of leadership in the technology and professional athletics industries. We live for this stuff, we love it, and we’re hiring! If you think you have the skills to build the future, shoot us an email at team@playeredition.com or check us out at playeredition.com.

About the Writer

Adam Hamden is an intern at Player Edition and a recent graduate from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Welcome to our diverse community of athletes, sports enthusiasts, NFT collectors, and thought leaders in crypto. We are founded by professional athletes and have partnered with dozens of creators to launch Player Edition, the premiere athlete NFT launch platform.

Player Edition occupies an uninhabited space; it sits where athletes, people who love sports, industry disruptors in Web3 and some of the biggest forces in crypto overlap. Whether you have to google what NGMI means, have converted your life savings into ETH, or are somewhere in between…Player Edition extends an invitation to join us.

We’re building Player Edition to disrupt often-predatory and cash grab drops, and connect players and Web3 curators directly to the people. We give players powerful tools for user-driven connection, properly rewarding and engaging with fans who love them.

To kick things off, we are launching NFTs projects that are created and designed by professional athletes, leading artists, and Web3 innovators. Player Edition is not building a factory of athlete trading cards, signatures, and one-off drops. We respect everyone’s approach, but we see value from a different vantage point—one that emphasizes participation, community, and culture. Play­er Edition serves to highlight players as creators and artists themselves, all anchored by high-quality creative concepts and enduring communities. We see value in building a space that fosters organic community interaction through ever-evolving blockchain technology and IRL Player Edition events.

We’re proudly and transparently laying out our core values. If they strike a chord in you (they will), we’d love to invite you to join in:

WE ARE A TEAM:

If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go as a team. We understand the value of teams above all else. We are unifying our community through Player Edition and creating a space for people-to-player connection that has never before been occupied. In our world, we aim to humanize, empower, and connect the players and the people.

WE THRIVE THROUGH DIVERSITY:

As a minority led team at Player Edition (something few and far between in Web3), we have an opportunity to empower a diverse and inclusive community into the Playerverse, breaking norms and amplifying voices as our priority, rather than an afterthought. We want to educate and initiate everyone of every background into the world of crypto, NFTs, and the metaverse. Let’s blaze the trail and leave a path for others to follow.

WE ARE FUELED BY CURIOSITY:

We pledge to always be actively learning, evolving, and growing. Our world around us is changing at warp speed and we are excited to keep exploring every step of the way. We’ve made it this far because we are curious.

WE VALUE TRUST AND OPEN COMMUNICATION:

With the true principles of Web3 in mind, we want to keep communication open within our community. We want to support everyone by sharing what we’re doing as we are doing it — always keeping the dialogue open and flowing. We’re all venturing into this together. What is our community but a big brain trust of all of our members?

Sound good to you? It does to us. We are thrilled to be making strides in the ever-changing and rapidly expanding landscape of crypto and Web3. We’re not simply keeping up, we’ve found a way to bring our community along with us. At Player Edition, we see it as our responsibility to foster the connection between sports and crypto.

Whether you’re joining us from metaverse or IRL, we’re happy you’re here.

If you are interested in joining our journey, check us out on Twitter (@player_edition) or shoot us an email at team@playeredition.com.

It is no secret that people love sports. Sports bring dreams to life: they inspire unimaginable athletic feats and unite people in a way that little else does. At the center of this all are the players themselves: our modern day superheroes.

Nothing compares to that instant connection with our favorite players. To be a fan today is to be part of something larger than ourselves: we connect with our communities over collective victories and heartbreaking losses. On and off the court, this unique and ineffable bond between fans and players goes back to the dawn of sports itself.

Web3 and NFTs bring this authentic connection to the digital age. NFT's are a cultural movement as much as they are artistic collectibles. We envision a completely new kind of technology platform—one that’s tailored to meet the needs of individual athletes, their fans, and the greater ecosystem that surrounds it. We designed Player Edition to build this future, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.

Introducing Player Edition:

Player Edition brings the power of Web3 and NFTs back to the players. With us, players can now directly engage their fans in an unprecedented social movement.

We’ve already built an ecosystem of unparalleled connections formed between our players, teams, artists, metaverse designers and crypto-enthusiasts.

Player Edition will soon share more details about PlayerDAO, including collaborations with prominent athletes, artists, and gamification.

Our mission is to champion the autonomy of artists, players, and fans alike to capture the true value of their connection and love for the game.

The Rise In Authenticity:

Recent innovations in Web3 have given both creators and collectors full ownership and autonomy over their work. Digital assets, by way of NFTs, are enabling new tools for us to engage with each other and identify ourselves online. We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the ways our social and financial investments showcase our values, beliefs and passions as consumers.

NFTs, DeFi and related technology have the power to change the way that traditional companies, brands and players interact with their communities. In an age where culture is increasingly moving online, NFTs are becoming a gateway for like-minded individuals to cement culture and engagement in a tangible moment in time. It has never been easier for players to leave just as large of a footprint on the real-life court, as on the future of the social web.

However, to date, the rewards from NFTs and digital assets created in player likeness are going to third-party organizations and not the players themselves. We view the players as artists and cultural icons and the distribution of revenue should more accurately reflect that. In fact, our founders’ personal experiences in the space have demonstrated the lack of empowerment and support for our favorite players.

Player Edition changes this. We empower players with new tools, knowledge and resources that place them in the driver’s seat for the first time.

We’re Just Getting Started:

Player Edition is onboarding a new generation of basketball fans, crypto-aficionados, and digital natives who all collectively see the possibilities of what NFTs and Web3 have to offer.

Stay tuned to follow Player Edition–and soon PlayerDAO–in the weeks ahead as we will be dropping some very exciting news.

Our world-class team of art, business, and technology professionals have decades of leadership in the technology and professional athletics industries. We live for this stuff, we love it, and we’re hiring! If you think you have the skills to build the future, shoot us an email at team@playeredition.com.