Down goes the Staples Center. Shams bomb tonight announcing that the iconic home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, The Staples Center, will be renamed The Crypto Arena, thanks to Crypto.com. The deal to take over naming rights to the arena will kick in on December 25th. Crypto.com apparently has struck the largest U.S. venue naming rights to date.

Besides the fact that cryptocurrency and NFTs are slowly taking over the world. Also it’s kind of weird that the Sixers new jersey sponsor is also Crypto.com. After moving on from StubHub, 76ers announced Crypto.com as their new uniform sponsor for 2021 in late September. As part of their deal, the 76ers launched their first NFTs to go along with their Spectrum City Edition jerseys.

Crypto has partnered with numerous sports teams worldwide, including soccer giant Paris Saint-Germain and the Montreal Canadiens. Alongside specific teams, they also have deals with F1, the UFC, and Serie A. The deal with the Sixers was reportedly worth over $10 million annually, which was also one of the most expensive in the league.

Whatever. It’s too late to even complain about Crypto.com. Everyone is obsessed with it and it’s become a part of NBA culture at this point. We all remember when Ben Simmons bought a Gutter Dog NFT. Just wait until the Metaverse is online with Mark Zuckerberg leading the charge. We’re so fucked it’s not even funny.

Anyways, not a big fan of sharing Crypto.com with The Crypto Center/Arena/whatever. Maybe I’m just possessive. Still seems stupid. Has that ever happened before? Jersey sponsor on one team. Name of arena for another? Disgusting.

RIP Staples Center. I’ll never forget Allen Iverson and the step over Tyronn Lue.