The experiments
10 projects
Source video / NBA Top ShotStudy 001 · Video-sourced artwork
Interactive prototypeOne actual play, three visual languages: a gallery gesture study, a street mural, and an anime-inspired poster.
- What we tried
- Choose three moments from LeBron’s source highlight. The same captured video frames drive every treatment for on-site comparison.
- What we learned
- Compare how visual language changes the play’s emotional read while the movement stays fixed. This first study is curated around one Moment.
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Collector education / Candy Field GuideStudy 002 · Collector education
Interactive tutorialA little guidance. A lot less guesswork. Learn to find, buy, and sell Candy collectibles with walkthroughs for Phantom, Candy.io, Magic Eden, and OpenSea.
- What we tried
- Device-specific lessons, platform routes, checkpoints, and knowledge checks guide collectors from wallet setup to their first listing.
- What we learned
- Explore a guided learning experience with locally saved lesson completion. This tutorial does not connect wallets or submit transactions.
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Source artwork / NBA Top ShotStudy 003 · Dimensional artwork
Proof of conceptLeBron’s Metallic Gold LE Moment explored as a layered artwork, with perspective, shifting metallic reflections, and the original play.
- What we tried
- A prepared photo mask and reconstructed background demonstrate the effect on one selected Moment.
- What we learned
- A successful visual study that depends on individually prepared artwork. Preserved here as an experiment, rather than a collection-wide feature.
Explore the prototype →Study 004 · Cinematic storytelling
Proof of conceptStep inside a split second. LeBron’s Top Shot debut unfolds through five chapters of suspended photographic depth and the original highlight.
- What we tried
- A profile frame from the highlight becomes layered artwork, then reassembles and resumes the same video shot.
- What we learned
- A shared video crop and exact freeze frame connect motion and artwork. Photographic parallax suggests space without reconstructing a full 3D player.
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Concept visualization / Wembanyama · NBA Top ShotStudy 005 · The living room
Proof of conceptYour collection, on a bigger stage. Browse NBA Top Shot Moments inside an Apple TV concept and settle into a continuous, full-screen playlist.
- What we tried
- A browser TV simulator with remote navigation, public collection loading, CollectorFlex sign-in, and original-aspect video playback.
- What we learned
- Explore the big-screen experience with live public inventory or a curated demo. Direct Dapper authentication and native TV apps remain future work.
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Class of ’26 / Dream SetsStudy 006 · Collector-created sets
Interactive prototypeThe platforms make the drops. You make the sets. Build a nine-pocket rookie checklist, make your own picks, and share your version.
- What we tried
- Eleven verified 2025–26 NBA Top Shot Rookie Debut editions power a nine-Moment binder with remixing, curator notes, local progress, and image exports.
- What we learned
- Explore whether personal taste turns a checklist into something worth sharing. Ownership is self-reported; this study has no account or public publishing service.
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Basketball simulation / Starting FiveStudy 007 · Collectible basketball
Playable conceptYour collection takes the court. Two collectors build a starting five, lock their lineups, and watch a simulated basketball matchup unfold.
- What we tried
- A shared-device lineup builder, seeded possession engine, replay controls, and box scores explore the game loop with twelve illustrative player profiles.
- What we learned
- Test whether team composition makes collecting more playful. Historical data, verified ownership, and online challenges remain future work.
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Release construction / Release LabStudy 008 · Release construction
Interactive prototypeBuild the checklist. Find the balance. Explore how rookie depth, subset design, and parallel supply shape a digital collectible release.
- What we tried
- An editable fictional release combines exact inventory and pack odds with seeded opening samples, adjustable market assumptions, and scenario comparisons.
- What we learned
- A scarce variant is part of a larger supply story. Model overlapping player supply and chase concentration before choosing a pack structure. Market outcomes are illustrative.
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Drop design / UnboundStudy 009 · Drop design
Concept studiesPeople are bored. Eight drop concepts that stop pretending to be cardboard — a generative PFP release, artist collabs, event-driven supply, and the instant a game changes direction.
- What we tried
- A public post argued that digital collectibles are still bound by the conventions of cardboard. The reply is eight playable concepts across baseball and basketball, with one new study of a play’s impact.
- What we learned
- Almost everything that feels fixed about a digital collectible was inherited from a press. Supply, authorship, silence, and the frozen instant are the conventions that break most easily; licensing and artist terms, not technology, are what stop any of these from shipping.
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Personal keepsake / At The MomentStudy 010 · Personal keepsakes
Interactive prototypeYou were there. Pair your ticket and photos from the game with the NBA Top Shot Moment from that night in one keepsake display.
- What we tried
- A browser-only builder resolves a Moment, compares its game date and teams with your ticket, strips photo metadata, covers ticket barcodes, and exports a PNG.
- What we learned
- Test whether your own experience of a game makes a Moment feel more personal than any frame. Matches are self-reported; nothing is uploaded or published.
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