NBA legend Scottie Pippen has entered Fortnite with a new competitive chase experience titled Don’t Drop the Ball, built around a famous piece of sports history.
Quick Facts
- Game Title: Don't Drop the Ball
- Island Code: 8996-5981-8979
- Release Date: Monday, July 27
- Platform: Fortnite (Multi-Platform)
- Developer: The Ball Foundation (built in Unreal Editor for Fortnite)
Inside the 1991-Inspired Chase
Developed in-house by The Ball Foundation, the 10-minute competitive experience is built around the actual basketball from the Chicago Bulls’ Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on June 12, 1991. That game marked the night the team clinched its first championship, with Pippen playing a starring role and holding onto the physical ball privately for over three decades before digitizing it for the project.
The premise of the Unreal Editor for Fortnite creation keeps gameplay straightforward. Players start in a city and race toward an arena where the ball sits at half court. Once a player grabs it, everyone else in the match targets them, and the player who holds the ball the longest wins the round.
Behind the Project
Pippen set the creative direction for the experience, aiming to recreate the competition and atmosphere of 1991. The project has been roughly a year in the making, growing alongside a broader ecosystem that includes the mobile game Meme Ball, an upcoming documentary, a virtual museum, and Web3 initiatives handled by The Ball Foundation.
Players can jump into the map immediately using island code 8996-5981-8979 or via the official ballonfortnite.com website.