Key Takeaways
- NBA hall of famer Shaquille O’Neal announced the release of his set of NFTs
- The legendary basketball player is partnering with Ethernity chain to release his set on Oct. 15
- O’Neal joins the many sporting legends who have release personalized digital collectibles
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) got another major endorsement on Monday.
Four-time NBA champion and celebrated athlete Shaquille O’Neal is entering the world of NFTs. According to reports, the NBA Hall of Famer will release his collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Ethernity Chain.
Ethernity Chain is a digital collectibles marketplace designed to produce and float unique NFTs. Ethernity is an Ethereum-based layer-2 platform.
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Celebrating Shaq’s legacy through NFTs
The NFT Collection presented by the Los Angeles Lakers star is called “Shaquille O’Neal: The Era of Dominance Collection.” Ethernity will release the collection on Oct. 15.
The collection will include five different NFTs portraying scenes from the top three teams Shaq represented during his career – the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic, and the Miami Heat.
However, collecting Shaq’s NFTs is not the only thing on offer. Buyers of his NFTs stand a chance to have a personal one-on-one video call with Shaq. Moreover, they can share a dinner table with him during his music festival.
Buyers of Shaq’s NFTs can also win a pair of custom size 22 shoes from the star.
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Ethernity expands into sports NFTs
The celebrated Basketball legend is not the only celebrity of whom Ethernity has released NFTs.
Athletes like Ezekiel Elliot from the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and former boxer-turned politician Manny Pacquiao also feature on the list.
The Filipino professional boxer has since retired from the ring. Pacquiao has been serving as a senator in the Philippines since 2016 and as party president of the ruling PDP–Laban since 2020. The boxing legend was also the representative of the Sarangani congressional district between 2010–2016.
Last month, Pacquiao officially declared his candidacy in the upcoming 2022 Philippine presidential election to be held in May.
Should he win the race and become President of the Philippines, it will be yet another feather added to the cap of the NFT world.
Back in May, Ethernity also dropped Muhammad Ali NFTs, which the NBA star shared on his Twitter handle.
The platform’s legendary list also includes Argentina star footballer Lionel Messi. The four-time Golden Ball and Six-time Golden boot winner launched his three NFT collectibles with the company. His counterpart, Uruguay’s Luis Suárez quickly followed suit.
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Going from critic to investor
Investing in Non-Fungible Tokens is the new trend among personalities. However, when it comes to Shaquille, it comes as a pleasant surprise.
Just last month, the NBA Hall of Famer made it clear that he does not plan to invest in cryptocurrencies. While talking to CNBC Make It, Shaq said he plans to steer away from the industry.
“I don’t understand it, so I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is,”
he said.
Claiming he has received multiple offers from companies to put out tweets in return for thousands in cryptocurrencies, the basketball legend remains weary.
“Every time somebody tells me one of those great stories, I like it. But from my experience, it is too good to be true,”
the NBA star claimed.
However, O’Neal doesn’t seem to be scared of blockchain altogether.
He began investing in NFTs, becoming the owner of two Creatures, an NFT series launched on the Ethereum blockchain on Aug. 29.
He even set Creature #9018 as his profile picture.
Following the profile change, he received a warm welcome from the founder Danny Cole on Twitter.
“Welcome to the family @SHAQ,” Creature also tweeted.
From calling the technology “too good to be true”, the NBA star has turned into an NFT buyer. He is now releasing his set of NFTs.
Only time will show what lies ahead for Shaq, whose net worth crosses $400 million.
