Sotheby's to Auction Eight Unique NBA Top Shot NFTs, Riding a Modest Revival in the NFT Market

The prestigious auction house has put up eight unique NBA Top Shot NFTs for grabs, each carrying a price tag ranging from $500 to $3,000

Prestigeous auction house Sotheby's is venturing into the world of digital art collectibles with a high-profile auction of NBA Top Shot moments.

The auction will feature eight unique NBA Top Shot NFTs, each carrying a price tag ranging from $500 to $3,000, a company spokesperson told Blockworks on Tuesday. Bidding will remain open until January 21.

Each lot encapsulates a highlight reel from the respective player’s debut NBA performance, showcasing moments from players like Jaylen Wells, Bub Carrington, Pacôme Dadiet and Kyshawn George.

The sale comes amid a slight resurgence in the digital art collectibles space, with a surge in NFT trading volume throughout December as select projects — like VeeFriends and World of Women — have sharply appreciated in value.

However, some observers suggest that this recent uptick may be largely due to collectors trying to cash in on crypto rewards linked to the Pudgy Penguins PENGU token debut, leaving uncertainty over whether the NFT market is genuinely experiencing a sustained revival.

NBA Top Shot burst onto the scene in 2020, igniting an NFT frenzy among sports enthusiasts in early 2021 that has since seen a significant decline.

While the platform witnessed staggering sales nearing $226 million in February 2021, recent figures show that Flow-based NFTs only accounted for a mere $2 million in sales last month, according to data from CryptoSlam. To date, the collection has raked in approximately $1.25 billion in total sales.

Sotheby's has continued to explore the NFT frontier in recent years, despite a prolonged slump in the one-of-a-kind token marketplace.

In 2021, the auction house notably generated nearly $17 million in NFT sales in partnership with digital artist Pak, as detailed on its official website. Just last summer, Sotheby’s also showcased a selection of Ethereum NFTs centered around the Bored Ape Yacht Club.