Katherine Ross

NBA&#8217;s Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry are facing a class action lawsuit over the collapse of FTX. 



The class action <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67628632/1/garrison-v-golden-state-warriors-llc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lawsuit</a> claims that both the Golden State Warriors and Curry engaged in a conspiracy that “​​substantially assisted or encouraged the wrongdoing conducted by the FTX Group.”



&#8220;The FTX Group and Defendants made numerous misrepresentations and omissions to Plaintiffs and Class Members about the deceptive FTX platform in order to induce confidence and to drive consumers to invest in what was ultimately a Ponzi scheme,” the lawsuit claims. 



They also claim that the Warriors “did not disclose that they were being compensated by FTX for promoting the sale of unregistered FTX securities.”&nbsp;



The basketball franchise also allegedly “had a financial incentive to induce Plaintiffs to invest with FTX” because it was an international rights partner.



In 2021, the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-us-partners-with-golden-state-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">team announced a partnership</a> with FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange started as the official cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace of the Golden State Warriors. 



In April 2022, the Warriors offered an NFT collection in partnership with FTX. Because the collection was minted on FTX, fans “must have had a FTX US account to mint and participate in the 1-of-1 auction.”



In addition, the partnership with Shaquille O’Neal and the Astrals NFT project he developed with his son, Myles O’Neal, required investors to have a “funded FTX account” in order to participate in the sale.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Stephen Curry, one of the stars on the team, notched a global ambassador deal with FTX in September 2021.&nbsp;



The lawsuit claims that Curry was ”paid, at least in part, in FTX stock and/or stock options – the value of which depended on the financial success of FTX.” Therefore, he had incentive to promote the former crypto exchange.



After FTX declared bankruptcy in November of last year, the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/golden-state-warriors-and-miami-heat-axe-ftx-deals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Golden State Warriors axed</a> their deals with FTX. 



The Golden State Warriors aren’t the only sports team to be targeted in crypto-related lawsuits. Mark Cuban and his team, the Dallas Mavericks, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lawsuit-likens-voyager-to-ponzi-sues-mark-cuban-for-promotion" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">faced a lawsuit from Voyager customers</a> after the crypto lender also declared bankruptcy. 



The lawsuit also claims that Voyager was a “<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/mark-cuban-to-be-deposed-next-month-in-voyager-ponzi-suit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">massive Ponzi scheme.</a>”



The suit alleges that the Mavericks and Cuban “teamed up” with Voyager and made “false representations and [employed] other means of deception. As a result, the Voyager plaintiffs and Voyager class members all sustained losses in excess of $5 billion.”&nbsp;



Curry has been mentioned in <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-do-tom-brady-steph-curry-and-naomi-osaka-have-in-common-an-ftx-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">another class action lawsuit involving FTX</a>, which was made infamous by Shaquille O’Neal after he managed to evade process servers for months before being <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/shaq-finally-served-during-heat-celtics-series-at-old-ftx-arena" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">served in the former FTX Arena</a>.



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Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry face class-action lawsuit from FTX investors

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_61b8b9cb803c4" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>FTX brand will be integrated into the Warriors’ esports brands, with its logo virtually placed on the team’s court during NBA 2K League games</li>
 <li>The deal follows FTX US’ partnership with Warriors Point Guard Stephen Curry in September</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



FTX US is now the official cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace of the Golden State Warriors, as the company adds to its list of sports partnerships in an effort to continue boosting brand awareness.



As part of the partnership, the NBA franchise will drop NFTs on <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATURwwTXm3MGnvvqbhBMCD4-2BPzOuFhBenEjk9ouKIrIFlxSLWHFwQ6w89jdyWrihfpqzdS-2BsIkRS1gVPixWCkZBhJuEikKIUHKyGOPkEe67rl36IwnoZKbQ50qHlOeHNCZZzHdgm5BhK31k2EWdfZSu-2FeH0s02DJOAYks-2F8GXsqPRofkh-2FF6r0ZJuxkQDjbw54ru6gnmTY8niDF-2F1j03VSSDIXbBUfOUltgE4x0GU8DvGJJzKhntXDwV7HYpXuGTgvtMq6-2FK7-2BagMhhy8u7t8XFjfzb2cIrB-2FtVA2lnFP6YgbYgqto3UhAhSAlaYJIYX8oErCTrxa9cOVI5LSTXtWKLZM-3DFYSN_AtBOqtbz2wW6S0rSGnE7surmL2HP9eJM7-2F3Q6xGwu6sE3WjGc9HndL-2FskgH4k61EigRf9MfCGJvjQ7rkatSq5cegFYk-2FfVWZRFOYxlYptgBqcii-2BmeTYoFgD9gEvCuv4yrvsvrI-2FkcE-2FGIFl0E-2FFnOU4v4M80exLwdKWIlUEMaz6qQKKaBT6ZPafx94UFjXUmSuqCwPbqqRByrebizHR93TuxB5x6MnZtMJE9Qy2WZebknx84vdUnVAaxIWk1MvZgG-2FWWekMLPY-2F4nTi8i9o8AFqtQYZl7ynFgtW6EWq7goQUlmBszO4n1O-2FNqIUFdruykkt-2FH1GzJUq6CUQt26v3Q-3D-3D" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FTX.us</a>, beginning in early 2022, the organizations announced Tuesday.



The alliance follows FTX’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-names-stephen-curry-a-global-ambassador/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partnership with Warriors point guard Stephen Curry</a>, who became a global ambassador for the company in September.&nbsp;



The company has also partnered with NFL quarterback Tom Brady and MLB All-Star <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-inks-deal-with-mlb-star-shohei-ohtani/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shohei Ohtani</a>. It also inked a deal with Major League Baseball earlier this year, which included the league’s umpires wearing an FTX.US logo patch on their uniforms.&nbsp;



FTX US President Brett Harrison <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-us-reports-512-increase-in-average-daily-volume-in-q3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previously told Blockworks</a> that the sports partnerships have helped spur dramatic growth for the business. It reported an average daily volume of roughly $360 million in the third quarter, a 512% increase from the prior quarter. The company’s user count also increased by 52% quarter over quarter.



Harrison said in a statement that it was through the September partnership with Curry that the business was introduced to the Warriors.



“The FTX US NFT Platform will provide a leading, safe and secure venue for the Warriors international fan base to access exclusive collectibles from the franchise,” Harrison noted.&nbsp;



“Alongside the NFT drops, working with the Warriors will increase our ability to create a positive change, not only domestically but internationally, with one of the most prestigious professional sport franchises in the world.”



The Warriors became the first professional sports team to launch <a href="https://gswnft.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an NFT collection</a> earlier this year. It featured digitally reproduced versions of the team’s six NBA championship rings.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Cryptocurrency has a well-established worldwide community and is going to continue to be a major part of the sports, media and entertainment industries,” Warriors President and COO Brandon Schneider said in a statement.</blockquote>



Crypto firms have continued moving toward the NBA, as well as the sports realm more generally, to boost awareness for their brands.&nbsp;



Software platform and decentralized infrastructure provider Ankr <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/sacramento-kings-nba-franchise-partners-with-ankr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">joined forces with the Sacramento Kings</a> in October, and Voyager Digital <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-digital-partners-with-dallas-mavericks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partnered with the Dallas Mavericks</a> later that month.&nbsp;



More recently, Crypto.com bought the naming rights to the Staples Center in Los Angeles as part of a 20-year, $700 million deal.



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