After Metaverse Gets Endorsements of Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, Big Decisions for NBA and WNBA Set to Help $4.4 Billion in Revenue
In October 2022, Stephen Curry and his company, SC30 Inc., filed for a metaverse trademark. According to this filing, Curry’s company plans to explore the metaverse by introducing a platform of its own, ‘Curryverse’. The metaverse may be the future, and the two-time MVP knows it. Without being specific about what the Curryverse holds, SC30 has rushed to claim rights to an aspect of the metaverse. Amidst these growing interests in the new technological age, the NBA and WNBA alike have tied themselves to a billion-dollar business.
As history has seen, the NBA has strived to improve a fan’s experience with the game. The goal has always been to make the leagues more accessible and relatable to fans. With their latest update, this experience is taken to the next level.
New contract terms between NBA and Meta
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On January 23rd, the NBA and Meta reportedly signed a multi-year deal that largely focuses on exploring the immersive VR technology that has an important place in the metaverse. According to a report on the NBA website, the league declared that this partnership “opens up exciting opportunities for NBA fans to virtually attend our games and interact with other fans around the world.”
OK, can’t wait to try this. You’ll be able to watch some NBA games in Meta’s VR headset… including Clippers vs Cavs on January 29th.https://t.co/GwxElBndv9
— Rich DeMuro (@richontech) 23 January 2023
This experience is enabled for fans via Meta Quest, the billion-dollar VR headset division of Meta. The goal is to launch around 50 NBA games in VR and at the same time hold watch parties with friends and family. All you need is an NBA League Pass and a VR Meta Quest Headset.
The WNBA, G-League and the 2K League can also be viewed through this new deal. This multi-year extension also included the ability for fans to purchase official league apparel for their virtual avatars.
The NBA and Meta (née Facebook) have a new multi-year deal for a VR NBA experience through Meta’s VR world. It will have 52 NBA League Pass games in VR, and Meta will sell NBA merch in its avatar store.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) 23 January 2023
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Meta’s director of sports media said, “The NBA is always pushing us to innovate and leverage the latest technology to open the door to new fan experiences, and this chapter of our partnership accomplishes just that.“
Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson follow Stephen Curry
In 2022, Magic Johnson joined Metaverse after purchasing two eSports leagues. The Lakers legend has reportedly purchased a football and basketball team in an eSports league curated by SimWin sports. Johnson was excited to build this “multi-billion-dollar business”.
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Check out this story – Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and other superstars who made the cover of NBA 2k
On the other hand, Shaquille O’Neal filed a trademark application for his company SHAQ. The application stated that Shaq intended to enter the Metaverse by making room for “non-downloadable virtual footwear, clothing, headgear, glasses.” With this drastic development, it will be interesting to see how the NBA and Metaverse work together.
