Reported NBA Instagram Hack Used to Promote Meme Coin

According to reports, the NBA’s official Instagram page was taken over on October 14 and then used to encourage followers to buy a meme coin called NBA Coin (NBA).

No confirmation of the hack has come from the league, and the post has since been removed. It joins a series of reported 2026 takeovers in which brand and executive accounts were used for meme coin promotions.

What the Deleted NBA Meme Coin Post Pitched

Front Office Sports reported what the deleted post said on the reportedly compromised account, where NBA Coin was pitched as an official league product.

The NBA appears to have been hacked, with one Instagram post promoting a meme coin: 'NBA Coin.' The post has since been deleted.

— Front Office Sports (@FOS), October 15, 2026

Alongside the pitch, the post carried a contract address for a token created on Pump.fun, a venue that lets anyone build and list tokens.

Only a small number of buyers appear to have been drawn in. The token, which was created on October 14, had a market capitalization of around $3,500 by that evening.

Even so, the post gained notice ahead of its removal. Screenshots indicate it had collected 3,592 likes and 500 comments.

A New Token Under an Old Name

If verified, this would be the second occasion on which the league’s social channels had been used to push an NBA Coin token. In March 2025, the league’s X account was hijacked to announce an NBA Coin on Solana (SOL).

These are two different tokens, as each post pointed to a distinct contract address. That earlier post was taken down roughly five minutes after appearing, and NASCAR’s X account was hit by a comparable attempt on the same day.

The same approach has been used against corporate accounts during 2026. Microsoft acknowledged unauthorized access to its X account earlier this month. The account had followed and re-shared a profile posing as Clippy, the retired Office assistant.

The Pokémon Company’s X account was compromised in August, and it was used to promote a cryptocurrency. People in executive and public roles have been targeted as well.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s X account was hijacked in July, and Senator Cynthia Lummis’ account was compromised days later. Kylie Jenner’s X account was reportedly compromised in August.

BeInCrypto received no immediate response from the NBA to its request for comment. There has been no word from the league on how the Instagram account was reportedly accessed or on whether any fans purchased the token before the post disappeared.