San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich never had spent a moment thinking about NFTs until his longtime assistant, Brett Brown, raised the idea on a phone call to coincide with his inevitable breaking of Don Nelson’s record for regular-season career coaching victories.
What inspired enthusiasm about the idea for Popovich is that full proceeds of the 1,336 NFTs — one for each of his career wins — will go to the charity he’s long championed: the San Antonio Food Bank.
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With Popovich surpassing Nelson on Friday night with a 104-102 victory over the Utah Jazz, the Spurs are making 1,336 NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, that will include five of his hand-drawn offensive play cards and five Spurs court designs over his 26 seasons as coach. Among Pop’s plays: “Lock and Lob” and “Side Out of Bounds.”
The play cards are synonymous with Popovich’s legendary head-coaching career, a system introduced to him as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors in the 1990s under Nelson himself.
The collection will include five unique NFTs — representing each of his NBA championships as Spurs coach — that will include a play and court design. Each of those five will be auctioned to the highest bidder, and include a VIP Spurs experience next season.
The remaining NFTs will cost $250, and will be available on the marketplace OpenSea.
