The NBA got hacked and sadly, it had nothing to do with the 76ers’ Crypto partnership

Well, it finally happened. The NBA’s official X (Twitter) account got hacked Tuesday, and the cyber criminals wasted no time trying to scam fans into investing in a fake NBA cryptocurrency called “NBA Coin.”

For a brief moment, I saw the words “NBA” and “scam” trending and thought, “Oh, this must be about the Sixers and Crypto.com finally getting exposed.” But no, this was just another classic social media hack, where some guy in a basement convinced 48 million people that the league was suddenly launching a Solana-based digital coin.

Would I have been happier if the next big scam to hit the league was a deeper investigation into the 76ers’ questionable crypto partnerships? Absolutely. Because if there’s one franchise that took an absolute nosedive once the NFT and Web3 wave hit, it’s Philadelphia.

But instead, we got this:

🚨 The now-deleted post claiming NBA Coin was real:

So we’re not gonna talk about how the NBA tried to launch a Crypto scam and deleted the post like a minute after making it pic.twitter.com/B7mNDVvPv9

— Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) March 4, 2025

NBA Coin? In This Economy?

The hack was pretty standard fare—a fake announcement, an official-looking press release, and a wallet address for fans to blindly send their hard-earned money to. It didn’t take long for people to screenshot the post, call it out as a scam, and roast it into oblivion.

And as expected, the league quickly deleted the post and confirmed their account had been compromised. No NBA Coin, no blockchain revolution, just a bunch of hackers trying to grift NBA fans.

Cavs and NASCAR Get Roped In

Turns out the Cleveland Cavaliers and NASCAR’s official X accounts also fell victim to the same crypto scammers, with both posting similar fake announcements about launching their own tokens—Cavs Coin and NASCAR Token.

NASCAR later confirmed they were hacked, but the Cavaliers? Well, they might actually still be considering it knowing Dan Gilbert’s business history.

Cleveland Cavaliers and NASCAR X accounts also hacked, also launched fake coins

The CAVS's Twitter account was hacked to promote a Solana coin 😱 pic.twitter.com/2hRskLLmF0

— Clevelander: The Alternative (@Clevelander_TA) March 4, 2025

Lol pretty sure they got hacked but thats funny pic.twitter.com/7a9L31sDqz

— Carson (@NASCARSON_) March 4, 2025

Professional Sports Crypto: A Love Story Gone Wrong

The NBA has had a rough history with crypto ever since it jumped on the Web3 bandwagon in the early 2020s.

NBA Top Shot (2021) – The league got fans to drop insane money on NFTs of basketball highlights, only for the whole market to collapse, leaving people with $500 Jae Crowder moments nobody wants.

Crypto.com Arena (2021-Present) – The Lakers played in STAPLES Center for over two decades before their building was sold out to Crypto.com, which then laid off half its staff and became one of the biggest jokes of the crypto winter.

The 76ers’ Crypto Curse – If we’re talking about NBA teams ruined by crypto, Philadelphia is public enemy No. 1. Ever since the Crypto.com patch showed up on Sixers jerseys, the franchise has been on a downward spiral.

For a brief, fleeting second, when I saw “NBA scam” trending, I was hoping it was the Crypto.com curse finally getting exposed for all its destructive energy.

Instead, we just got some hackers phishing for gullible investors like the dummies who bought the Hawk Tuah girl’s “Hawk Coin”.

What’s Next?

The league needs to fix its security ASAP. How does a multi-billion dollar league with 48 million followers on X get compromised this easily? Somebody on the NBA’s social media team is recycling passwords like “NBA123” and it finally caught up to them.

But more importantly, can we please get a full-scale investigation into the real scam that’s been haunting the Sixers for years? Because I’m convinced Philadelphia’s downfall can be traced directly to that cursed Crypto.com sponsorship.

Until then, RIP to NBA Coin—a scam so bad, even Adam Silver didn’t try to profit off it.

Join The Chase