Author: Zen, PANews
This summer, Tristan Thompson, nicknamed TT, who has spent 14 years in the NBA, is essentially bidding farewell to his professional career. The veteran center, who is considered a blue-collar player, finds it difficult to secure another job in the NBA at the age of 34.
For many fans, TT is best known for winning the championship with LeBron James for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, as well as his on-and-off relationship with Khloé Kardashian, which has been filled with scandals and attempts at forgiveness.
Last September, although TT was completely out of shape, his former team, the Cavaliers, signed him to a one-year veteran minimum contract worth about $3.3 million out of nostalgia.
As the season ended, TT, now a free agent, found himself without any offers in the market. He had anticipated this situation and had already begun planning a transition to an unexpected arena—cryptocurrency.
Supporting Decentralized Science, Launching a Crypto Podcast to Share Blockchain Knowledge
On June 26, 2025, in an exclusive interview with People magazine, TT revealed that he would serve as the Chief Advisory Officer of the decentralized science platform AxonDAO, hoping to help the public take control of their medical data. He stated that he is "very inclined towards things that can truly help society," praising the crypto and blockchain fields for "creating amazing things that change the world every day."
Compared to last summer's "meme token craze," TT expressed that he values applying artificial intelligence and blockchain to practical scenarios like healthcare. He mentioned that projects like AxonDAO, which combine AI and health, are significant to him because his brother Amari suffers from severe epilepsy, which resonates deeply with him. He hopes to help patients like his brother access treatment options globally more conveniently and "ensure that everyone can control their health data."
When discussing the trend of athletes seeking career transitions, he said, "That's why athletes today are not content just being athletes… We want to be businessmen, creators, developers. Personally, I want to be an innovator, always staying a few steps ahead of the times."
In recent years, the NBA has seen a surge in athletes creating personal podcast shows, from current All-Stars like Paul George and Draymond Green to retired legends like Steve Nash. This year, TT also launched a podcast. However, unlike others who focus on basketball and athlete anecdotes, TT's podcast "Courtside Crypto" primarily aims to share blockchain knowledge with other athletes and fans, advocating for young players to pay attention to the opportunities and risks in the crypto industry.
On August 4, 2025, TT visited the White House as a podcast host, interviewing Bo Hines, the then-executive director of the White House Digital Assets Council. He mentioned that when President Trump declared he wanted to be "the cryptocurrency president of America," he and many grassroots people around him were "very excited."
TT stated in the interview that there are misunderstandings about the crypto field: "When people hear 'cryptocurrency,' they still only think of scams or speculation. But they don't see how blockchain can impact healthcare, education, and even the way we buy houses. This is an infrastructure revolution, and we need to help everyone understand that."
He further described his vision of integrating crypto technology into daily life: "I hope my children will buy their first house with stablecoins in the future—no bank wire transfers, no ten forms to sign, just send a transfer, settle directly, it's that simple. This is the future we are building."
According to TMZ, on August 11, TT was appointed Chief Digital Equity Officer of the telecom blockchain company World Mobile, dedicating himself to the mission of "connecting billions of unconnected people worldwide." He stated that he would work towards World Mobile's vision of providing affordable internet services using peer-to-peer distributed nodes, aiming to solve connectivity issues in remote and impoverished communities.
As part of his responsibilities, TT also initiated the Community Connectivity Fund, investing millions of dollars to strengthen network infrastructure and pilot projects in vulnerable communities. TMZ jokingly noted that while preparing for his 15th NBA season, participating in World Mobile, and engaging in multiple AI startup projects, TT has become one of the busiest figures in sports this year.
Creating an On-Chain Basketball Fan Interaction Platform Basketball.fun
Perhaps seeing no hope of returning to the NBA, on September 18, 2025, TT announced that he would launch the on-chain basketball fan interaction platform Basketball.fun before the start of the new NBA season. This project is based on the new public chain Somnia, which went live in early September, aiming to achieve real-time player value assessment by tokenizing NBA players' performances and fan sentiments, while gamifying the interaction between fans and the game.
TT stated, "This is how we collectively experience those moments; it’s not just about basketball itself. We are creating a space for fans that goes beyond the game, where your participation, passion, and performance truly matter." It was introduced that Basketball.fun would not issue a platform token but would focus on underlying chain infrastructure and user experience innovation to avoid falling into a model that solely relies on token prices.
However, this shell that applies fantasy sports mechanisms has had several "pioneers" in the past that primarily focus on fan tokens. Basketball.fun, both in name and game mechanics, inevitably reminds one of the previously briefly popular Football.fun. Such games seem to always struggle to avoid the fate of being short-lived.
In a recent interview, TT discussed his latest views and plans for the crypto industry. He emphasized that he has been deeply involved in the crypto field for over a year, adopting a long-term investment strategy, refusing to issue any personal tokens, and focusing on promoting financial education and investment innovation.
TT revealed that his on-chain basketball project Basketball.fun is in preparation, integrating fantasy basketball games and prediction markets to enhance player value assessment through fan interaction, thereby increasing fan engagement in a new way.
"With my current understanding, I would definitely insist on being paid in Bitcoin back then." In May 2025, TT stated in an interview with Cointelegraph Magazine that after receiving a big contract, friends advised him to buy BTC, but he hesitated due to its volatility. "If I had done that, it would have been the best bet in the history of American sports," TT added.
During the Cavaliers' championship season in 2015-2016, he received a nearly $82 million contract after averaging close to 8 points and 8 rebounds at the beginning of the season. From the fans' perspective, TT was able to secure such a premium contract mainly because LeBron James, known as "King James," regarded him as a confidant and helped drive up his price. Chinese fans humorously referred to him as "the Eight Virtuous Kings."
Compared to NBA legend Scottie Pippen, who occasionally claims "Satoshi appeared in a dream" or "Bitcoin will reach a million quickly," TT appears to be much more pragmatic.
In terms of market prospects, he boldly predicts that "by the end of 2025, Bitcoin's price could reach $150,000," and believes that if this goal is achieved, the altcoin market will also rise, potentially bringing substantial year-end returns for investors.
Additionally, he expressed a desire to take on an executive role at a top crypto company within the next six months, working full-time to "drive industry change" and help blockchain technology achieve widespread user adoption.
Although this former NBA player is just starting his journey in the crypto field, his development prospects remain to be seen over time.
Reactions to TT's transition vary across different sectors, but there is a general interest in his future movements. Whether fans or industry insiders, everyone is watching to see if this former basketball champion can score new points in the blockchain and cryptocurrency arena.
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