Tristan Thompson Teams with Somnia to Revolutionize Basketball Fandom Through Blockchain

NBA star Tristan Thompson slams dunk on traditional sports memorabilia—partnering with Somnia to bring basketball fandom fully on-chain.

Game-Changing Tech

Somnia's blockchain infrastructure lets fans own verifiable digital assets—from highlight moments to exclusive content—cutting out middlemen and creating direct athlete-to-fan economies.

Beyond Collectibles

The platform bypasses legacy systems entirely—offering real-time engagement, provable scarcity, and instant global accessibility that physical collectibles simply can't match.

Market Impact

While sports franchises chase NFT revenue streams, Thompson's move signals broader athlete adoption—though skeptics note most sports tokens still trade like penny stocks despite the hype.

This isn't just digital trading cards—it's building an entire economy around fandom that actually benefits creators first, not just venture capitalists looking for their next exit.

Tokenized NBA players

Unlike traditional fantasy sports or fan tokens, the platform will tokenize NBA players with values that fluctuate in real time based on sentiment and performance. Fans will be able to assemble rosters, speculate on rising talent, and earn rewards tied to their predictions and engagement.

“The way fans value and perceive players should be different than owners and news networks,” Teherany said in an interview with CoinDesk. “We’re trying to give power back to the fan — not just to predict who they think is great, but to actually earn incentives from it. Imagine being able to prove that the fan consensus on a rookie’s potential is more accurate than a team’s front office.”

Teherany stressed that the app won’t launch with a native token, distancing itself from projects like Socios that hinge on token price. Instead, players will hold in-app value that reflects fan sentiment and game outcomes.

Why Somnia, Not Solana?

Asked why the team chose to build on Somnia instead of more established chains like solana or Avalanche, Teherany pointed to both relationships and philosophy.

“Everything in this industry comes from authentic relationships,” he said. “When we met Herman Narula, it was an alignment of vision. He’s not chasing short-term token HYPE but is committed to building sports and entertainment on-chain for the long term. That gave us confidence that this wouldn’t just be valued on market speculation.”

The decision also came after lessons learned from a previous project, TracyAI, which Teherany said became too dependent on token performance. This time, the focus is on infrastructure, gamification, and sustainability.

Somnia’s Technical Edge

Somnia went live on Sep. 2, following a six-month testnet that processed over 10 billion transactions and onboarded 118 million wallets. Backed by UK-based metaverse company Improbable, the network is positioning itself as the fastest EVM-compatible chain, claiming to handle more than one million transactions per second with sub-second finality.

At launch, Somnia onboarded 60 validators, including Google Cloud, and has integrated with protocols like LayerZero, Sequence, and Thirdweb. Its native token, SOMI, has nearly doubled in value since launch and is already processing billions in daily volume.

For Teherany, Somnia’s traction adds credibility: “They’ve done billions in daily volume, bigger than some of the major exchanges. That’s a testament to what they’re building—and what we’re building on top of it.”

Road to Tip-Off

The project’s first major reveal is scheduled for Korea Blockchain Week, where Thompson will share his vision alongside Narula and Teherany. Attendees of Somnia House, the network’s flagship side event in Seoul on September 23, will get an early look at the app and roadmap.

“We want to make this as approachable as possible,” Teherany said. “The blockchain layer should feel invisible. Whether you’re a crypto native or just a basketball fan, you’ll be able to join, play, and help define the narrative of the sport.”