By now you’ve likely heard of NFTs, and maybe even seen that a few hoopers have dabbled in various projects. But no project has taken the NBA by storm quite like Rumble Kong.
The Rumble Kong League features a collection of 10,000 programmatically designed NFTs called Kongs. Collectors include a slew of NBA players: Stephen Curry, Paul George, Tyrese Haliburton, Andre Iguodala, Josh Hart, Hassan Whiteside, Gary Payton II, Cole Anthony, Damion Lee, JaVale McGee and Malik Beasley.
RKL is distinguishing itself from other NFT projects in the mainstream by rolling out ambitious experiential opportunities for Kong holders: Players will be able to compete in leagues and tournaments for cryptocurrency prizes, own and manage teams, purchase fashion collectibles for their Kong to wear, train their Kong to level up statistics, and breed their Kong to create new NFTs. The video game itself hasn’t launched yet, but when it does Kong holders will be able to participate in all sorts of ways; the game will launch in 2022 and is expected to feature 3-on-3-style gameplay.
The visual traits of the Kongs come in varying degrees of rarity. Each Kong is also randomly assigned Shooting, Defense, Vision and Finishing statistics that will guide each Kong’s on-court potential.
As holders wait for gameplay to be released, the Kong community continues to grow. The @RumbleKongs Twitter account now has over 40,000 followers. Dating back to the collection’s June release, Kong trade volume is now over $55 million. Lots of your favorite athletes and entertainers are repping Kongs—beyond the NBA guys mentioned above, holders include Ja Rule, La La Anthony and Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt. RKL’s merch has been spotted on NBA players both in the tunnel and at post-game press conferences.
On the funding front, CAA Sports and Paul George backed the project to accelerate game development. The first major partnership included Under Armour Basketball and Curry, who will bring a digital sneaker into the game.
“Our goal is to provide a truly unique and memorable experience for sports fans within the Rumble Kong League,” said Marcus Bläsche, CEO of the Rumble Kong League. “NFTs and the Metaverse are making a huge impact in the gaming world and we aim to build the go-to sports ecosystem and push the boundaries of what is possible within the web3 space.”
Meet Le’Jon LaMon aka Sickpencil, the man behind the Rumble Kong League’s electrifying visuals.
