On Tuesday, Dapper Labs, Inc. – the company that built NBA Top Shot – announced a new funding round of $305 million with Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant among the investors.
Later that day, USA TODAY Sports caught up with Dapper Labs CEO and co-founder Roham Gharegozlou, who compared the influx of money to putting fuel in the tank for a continuing journey.
“But it’s really cool we also picked up some friends for the ride kind of thing,” Gharegozlou said on a video call. “So Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, it’s just great to have those guys on board (but) more than just money. They personally care about the product and believe in the future.”
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The rest of the conversation is below. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
USA TODAY: So does this mean we are one step closer to a Michael Jordan moment?
Roham Gharegozlou: “I cannot confirm or deny any of those rumors.”
USA TODAY: Seriously, though, you touched on it there, creatively, strategically, what have they brought to the table?
RG: “Like the players specifically?”
USA TODAY: Yeah.
RG: “The coolest thing is they’ve been involved in the product. Kevin and Rich (Kleiman) have sort of already been helping us with Boardroom. I learned when I talked to Michael and Curtis (Polk) that they’ve been to the platform and Curtis has been sniffing around and doing stuff in early January. So it’s been cool that they…
