The NBA’s official Instagram account was reportedly hacked on October 14 and used to urge followers to buy a meme coin called NBA Coin (NBA).
The league has not confirmed the hack yet, and the post has since been deleted. It adds to a run of reported 2026 takeovers that turned brand and executive accounts into meme coin promotions.
What the Deleted NBA Meme Coin Post Pitched
Front Office Sports reported the text of the now-deleted post on the reportedly compromised account, which pushed the token as an official league product.
The post also carried a contract address for a token launched on Pump.fun, a platform where anyone can create and launch tokens.
Few buyers appear to have taken the bait. The token, created on October 14, held a market capitalization of about $3,500 by that evening.
Still, the post drew attention before deletion. Screenshots show it collected 3,592 likes and 500 comments.
A New Token Under an Old Name
If confirmed, this would be the second time hackers used the league’s social media to push a token called NBA Coin. In March 2025, hackers used the league’s X account to announce an NBA Coin on Solana (SOL).
The two tokens are separate, since each post listed a different contract address. The 2025 post disappeared about 5 minutes later, and NASCAR’s X account was compromised in a similar scheme the same day.
Corporate accounts have faced the same playbook through 2026. Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed unauthorized access to its X account. The account had followed and reposted a profile impersonating Clippy, the retired Office assistant.
In August, The Pokémon Company’s X account was compromised and used to promote a cryptocurrency. Executives and public figures have also been targeted.
Hackers hijacked Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s X account in July, and Senator Cynthia Lummis’ account days later. Kylie Jenner’s X account was reportedly hacked in August.
The NBA did not immediately respond to BeInCrypto’s request for comment. The league has not said how its Instagram account was reportedly accessed, or whether any fans bought the token before the post vanished.
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