Heat launches NFT collection to celebrate first NBA title

The name of the Miami Heat’s home arena was recently converted to FTX Arena, with the cryptocurrency exchange taking over as the lead sponsor. Now, the Heat is entering the digital asset space.

The Heat announced Wednesday night that it’s releasing a “unique collection of digital memorabilia to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the 2006 Championship” in the form of non-fungible tokens. The collection is titled “15 Strong,” which was the Heat’s 2006 playoff championship motto when it defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals to claim the organization’s first championship.

The plan is for 127 digital collectibles, “including one set of faithful recreations and one set of 8-bit style renderings” to be up for auction to the public via OpenSea beginning on Friday at noon through Monday at 11:59 p.m. Buy now pieces will be available until July 31 at 11:59 p.m. or while supplies last.

Each NFT has been minted onto the Ethereum blockchain in limited supply to verifiably guarantee ownership.

According to the Heat’s press release, “Buyers will have the opportunity to own a piece of ‘digital’ Heat history as well as a piece of tangible Heat history in the form of a 2006 Championship ring, 2006 Championship banner, and 2021-22 game tickets with select NFT editions.”

“The Miami Heat 15 Strong NFT Collection represents a unique combination of the past and the present,” said Jennifer Alvarez, the Heat’s vice president of creative and digital marketing. “The specially curated 15 NFTs available for auction create exciting opportunities for traditional memorabilia and NFT collectors.”

For a preview of the NFTs available for auction, click here or visit NFT.Heat.com.

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Anthony Chiang covers the Miami Heat for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and was born and raised in Miami.