Tristan Thompson Teams with Somnia to Revolutionize Basketball Fandom On-Chain
NBA star Tristan Thompson slams dunk on traditional sports memorabilia—partnering with blockchain platform Somnia to tokenize basketball fandom.
The Digital Courtside Experience
Thompson's move bridges hardcourt action with blockchain verification—creating digital collectibles that actually appreciate beyond nostalgic value. Forget trading cards that gather dust in attics.
Tokenized Fandom Meets Mainstream Adoption
Somnia's protocol cuts out intermediaries—letting fans own verifiable pieces of game history directly. No more trusting third-party authentication services that charge 30% premiums for paperwork.
Because nothing says 'financial innovation' like paying digital rent for JPEGs of athletes—but hey, at least the blockchain receipt is immutable.
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.”
