Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Scottie Pippen has six NBA championships after 17 seasons in the NBA. The former Chicago Bulls player has recently been bullish about something else: cryptocurrency.
Scottie Pippen and Crypto Support
The so-called Bitcoin evangelist has been active on X (formerly Twitter) to speak on current crypto and basketball affairs, often combining the two. His most recent prediction is up against leading market analysts suggesting the Bitcoin bull run might have ended. In the post, Pippen shared a daily BTC chart combining the previous bull run from 2020 to current times.
The chart confirms that Bitcoin has followed the trajectory from the 2020 market uptrend, with Scottie Pippen captioning that he knew “a thing or two about history repeating itself.” The former NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist isn’t the only one who thinks the bull run is still intact. According to his chart, the numbers suggest that Bitcoin could run beyond $180,000.
Aside from his Bitcoin predictions, Scottie Pippen recently launched a crypto project to tokenize a basketball from a pivotal point in his career. Dubbed the “Game 5 Ball”, the project celebrates the ball played by Pippen and the Chicago Bulls during their 1991 NBA Finals win.
Other NBA stars and their love for crypto
Pippen is only one of many NBA stars voicing out their cryptocurrency pursuits, even if he may arguably be the loudest. In a previous post, we highlighted cryptic X posts from the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid. In the inexplicable posts, Embiid tagged NBA sponsor and crypto trading platform Crypto.com.
The 30-year-old was also seen wearing a hoodie saying “HODL” in the post, which also means “Hold On For Deal Life”, a common phrase among crypto traders. The post coincided with Bitcoin approaching the $100,000 milestone, which convinced fans that the posts may be more connected to crypto than the 76ers’ recent performance.
Meanwhile, other NBA stars known to invest in crypto include Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, who invested in Coinbase back in 2017. Later, the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala became the first NBA athletes who signed a deal to receive a part of their salary in Bitcoin in 2022.
Crypto NBA betting
Beyond its players, the growth of cryptocurrency in the NBA also has implications for its betting scene. In 2024, the American Gaming Association reported that the NBA and MLB will get a $1.7 billion revenue increase from legal sports betting. In terms of the NBA specifically, gaming-related revenue of $160 million takes the NBA total up to $585 million.
With the advent of crypto, online sportsbooks have begun supporting crypto payments on top of traditional currency. Pioneering crypto betting platform Thunderpick offers various NBA betting odds, including popular betting markets like Match Winner, Handicaps, and Totals, as well as a Live Mode for bettors to watch games and place bets on in-play events. Currently, Thunderpick supports various cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin and Ethereum to memecoins like Dogecoin, Tron, and Ripple.
Considering Pippen’s recent Bitcoin predictions, NBA fans who enjoy betting will also want to take note of the coin’s trajectory to better inform their decisions. Today, many sports fans and bettors are already using cryptocurrency to place bets and withdraw their winnings. This includes Canadian rapper Drake, known for his love of sports betting. In recent years, Drake has actively placed bets on various major sporting events in crypto. Last year, the superstar lost over $1 million in Bitcoin after betting on the 2024 NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals — both turning out as losses.
NBA crypto sponsorships
Finally, NBA sponsorships have also shifted towards cryptocurrency companies and trading platforms in recent years. In 2022, crypto companies helped fuel the NBA’s sponsorship revenue to a record $1.6 billion. This is a 13% from the $1.4 billion in the 2020-21 season.
As of 2022, crypto partnerships were the second most lucrative sponsorship category for the NBA, behind only the technology category. Among the NBA’s crypto deals this season was a league agreement with crypto trading platform Coinbase. Prior to the Coinbase deal, the iconic Staples Center officially underwent a rebrand into the Crypto.com Arena in 2021.
Last but not least, Coinbase recently disclosed a new partnership with the Los Angeles Clippers. The multi-year collaboration encompasses brand visibility and will introduce exclusive perks for fans, such as a bonus of $5 in Bitcoin for signing up for a Coinbase account, as well as other season-long benefits. The partnership also includes merchandise and other digital collectibles. Aside from the Clippers, Coinbase also currently sponsors the Golden State Warriors.
Main photo credit: © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
