Luka Dončić received more All-Star votes than any player in the NBA this season. With one of the league’s most engaged fan bases, the expectations were high. So when it came time to launch 77X, his new direct-to-fan company, and debut its first original IP universe, Lil Luka’s Heartbreak Factory, at NBA All-Star Weekend, the mission was simple: build something fans would never forget.
Our goal from the start was simple: make being a Luka fan the most fun and immersive experience in sports. We set out to create a universe where fans don’t just watch, they belong. Seeing that vision come to life during All-Star weekend was truly special for Luka and the entire 77X team.
Lil Luka’s Heartbreak Factory: Level 1 marked the first chapter in a global rollout of real-world experiences built around the 77X universe. The IP lives across characters, stories, and collectible drops, but the physical space is where fans step inside it, competing, connecting, and shopping inside an immersive world that feels more like a futuristic arcade or theme-park experience than a traditional pop-up.
To connect the experience to long-term fan relationships, Luka also launched Fan Pass, a free mobile membership that gave each fan a unique identity within the ecosystem, unlocking rewards, experiences, and exclusive drops across both physical and digital touchpoints.
Inside that larger world, the Court to Cart Challenge blended gameplay and commerce. Fans hit trick shots to earn prizes, redeemed rewards through a custom Shopify POS integration, and moved seamlessly from play to purchase. Thousands participated over the weekend, with more than 1,000 new customers added to the ecosystem.
The challenge: Designing a world where every fan felt like the main character
NBA All-Star Weekend is built on speed. Thousands of fans move through pop-ups and brand activations in just a few days, and most experiences are optimized for throughput, not lasting impact.
77X set out to do the opposite.
The goal wasn’t simply to attract traffic. It was to create a moment fans would remember long after the weekend ended, and to transform that emotional connection into an ongoing relationship with the brand.
People are starving for spaces that make them feel magic again. The whole world has been optimized for speed and efficiency and convenience, and somewhere along the way we stopped building things that take your breath away. That was the whole goal here. When a space makes you feel like the main character, that stays with you, and builds real loyalty.
The vision was to build an environment that worked like a basketball video game. A space that recognized every fan the moment they walked in, reacted to their every move, and rewarded them in real time. Every made shot needed to trigger a real prize. Every prize needed to flow seamlessly to checkout. And the entire journey, from gameplay to purchase, needed to feel like one unbroken experience.
The creative challenge was making every single fan feel like the whole room was built for them. The technical challenge was doing that thousands of times over a single weekend without the pace ever slowing or the immersion ever breaking.
The activation: Shoot a trick shot, score a free product
To bring the vision to life, the team built the Court to Cart Challenge, an experience designed to blur the line between play and purchase. Every moment, from stepping onto the court to checking out in the shop, was engineered to feel like part of the same continuous game.
Here’s how it worked:
Scan: When fans stepped onto the court and scanned their 77X mobile wallet Fan Pass, the environment reacted instantly. Their name appeared in glowing lights above the hoop, a countdown clock started, and the game began.
Shoot: The court featured three trick-shot hoops with escalating difficulty - a moving basket, a triple hoop, and a bounce shot. Every made shot unlocked a different 77X reward, from collectible accessories to exclusive apparel. Screens around the court lit up to helping celebrate each win while, behind the scenes, a unique reward code was automatically generated and linked to the Fan Pass.
Score: When fans left the court and entered the shop, the experience continued seamlessly. Retail associates scanned each Fan Pass using a custom Shopify POS UI extension that instantly:
- Created a customer profile
- Pulled rewards earned on the court
- Applied prizes at checkout
- Updated inventory in real time
Even customers who didn't win still benefited. Scanning their fan pass allowed them to receive a digital receipt and sped up their checkout. It also unlocked exclusive products in the gift shop that were reserved for Luka’s biggest fans.
How Shopify made it possible
NBA All-Star Weekend always draws massive crowds, and 77X needed an experience that could handle thousands of participants without breaking down. By building a Shopify POS UI extension that connected with their mobile fan pass system, 77X created a redemption path that was fast, fraud-proof, and frictionless:
- Dynamic discount generation: Each successful basket triggered the creation of a unique discount code (via the Admin API) that was tied to an individual fan pass. This meant codes couldn't be shared, duplicated, or reused.
- Instant verification at checkout: The POS UI extension allowed associates to scan a fan's pass and immediately see which prizes they'd won. No need for retail associates to memorize codes or operate on the honor system.
- Automated customer capture: Every fan who scanned their pass at checkout was added to 77X’s customer database, ensuring digital receipts were sent to the right email and enriching their customer data for future drops.
- Scalable by design: POS UI extensions can integrate almost any in-store experience into retail checkout. Beyond redeeming trick-shot prizes, they can be used to capture customer metadata, unlock gifts with purchase, or apply rewards based on any in-store trigger.
The results
- Thousands of fans participated in the Court to Cart challenge
- 1,000+ prizes redeemed seamlessly via Shopify POS
- 1,000+ new customers captured for 77X's Fan Pass CRM
The takeaway: Retail experiences can create magic for the masses
Interactive retail experiences can be both memorable and seamless—the Court to Cart challenge proves this. By using Shopify POS UI extensions, 77X turned a gamified activation into a customer acquisition engine without bottlenecks or fraud risk.
Whether you're hosting a popup, launching a new product, or creating an experiential activation, Shopify's platform gives you the flexibility to build authentic experiences that strengthen your brand and grow your community.
Ready to build your own retail magic? Discover how Shopify POS UI extensions can transform any customer interaction into a magic moment of connection and conversion.