The National Basketball Association (NBA) have announced a partnership with Sorare, the sports gaming company, to create an NBA fantasy game that will be free to play.

The National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) are part of the deal too, with Sorare given the rights to use player names and photos, team logos and official NBA logos.

Sorare:NBA is the product and is a ‘fantasy-team’ game where participants will create a dream team of NBA players and earn points based on those players’ real-life performances

Sorare already have similar games in operation for Major League Baseball and a range of football (soccer) leagues worldwide.

Although Sorare have agreed a deal with the NBA, more traditional fantasy leagues will operate alongside Sorare, most notably the ESPN fantasy league.

The difference with Sorare:NBA, compared to other leagues, is that the game operates on blockchain technology, with each player encoded as a non-fungible token (NFT).

This gives participants a more tangible ownership of their team and encourages greater viewer engagement.

Commenting on the deal, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, said: “Our partnership with Sorare will give NBA fans an entirely new way to engage with our teams and players.”

“With Sorare’s emerging NFT fantasy platform, we see significant opportunities to broaden our community of fans and grow NBA basketball around the world,” he said.

Sorare CEO, Nicholas Julia, said: “The NBA has been at the forefront of digital experiences and collectibles and our game gives basketball fans the ultimate sports entertainment experience, where they can play like a general manager, own their game, and foster real-world connections.”

Sorare:NBA will be released in spring during the lead-up to the 2022-23 NBA season.