NEW YORK — National Basketball Association (NBA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and Sorare today announced a multiyear partnership that makes Sorare the Official NFT Fantasy Partner of the NBA. Sorare will launch the first officially licensed, free-to-play digital collectible-based fantasy basketball game, which will be released this fall for the NBA’s 2022-23 season.

The game will provide fans a new opportunity to interact with the league and compete through a unique fantasy gaming experience that offers users the ability to create a lineup of NFT-based digital collectibles representing their favorite players and teams to earn points based on the real-life performance of NBA players. As part of the partnership, Sorare will have the rights to utilize official NBA league and team logos across its products.

“Our partnership with Sorare will give NBA fans an entirely new way to engage with our teams and players,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “With Sorare’s emerging NFT fantasy platform, we see significant opportunities to broaden our community of fans and grow NBA basketball around the world.”

“Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world and we are excited to bring fans even closer to their favorite teams and players through Sorare: NBA,” said Nicholas Julia, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Sorare. “The NBA has been at the forefront of digital experiences and collectibles and our game gives basketball fans the ultimate sports entertainment experience, where they can play like a general manager, own their game, and foster real-world connections.”

“Sorare has built an innovative gaming experience that creates a whole new way for fans worldwide to interact with and learn more about our players,” said Tamika Tremaglio, NBPA Executive Director. “We are very excited about this partnership and the effect Sorare will have on the growth of the players and the game globally.”

The new gameplay experience builds upon Sorare’s two million registered users across 185 countries, including markets across Europe and Asia where the company is seeing rapid growth in its soccer game. The partnership marks Sorare’s third with a U.S. sports league, cementing the company’s expansion in the U.S.

The Sorare: NBA free-to-play fantasy game leveraging collectibles backed by non-fungible technology will launch this fall. To sign up for the waiting list, visit sorare.com/NBA.