Updated on:11/26/2025 01:41 PM 
There's no denying that Chainlink (LINK) has emerged as one of the most talked-about cryptocurrencies in recent months.
The Ethereum-powered token's performance has been nothing short of remarkable: according to data from CryptoSlate, LINK has surged 74.34 percent in the past month alone and approximately 600 percent from the March market lows.
Driving this impressive growth is a wave of positive sentiment surrounding Chainlink's core technology, decentralized oracles, which have been adopted by major players both within and outside the blockchain ecosystem in recent months.
CryptoSlate had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Kris Humphries, a former NBA player for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, and several other teams, to discuss his perspective on what's next for Chainlink.
This conversation followed after he tweeted that LINK's recent price performance has been "awesome" and that he believes Chainlink should be viewed as a long-term investment or holding.
Since my first tweet about #ChainLink on April 7, 45+ additional partnerships have been announced, data feeds increased from 29 to 31, and price increased by 145%. This is a long-term play, still these short-term wins are awesome.#LINK #BTC #ETH
— Kris Humphries (@KrisHumphries) July 10, 2020
Humphries explained to CryptoSlate that what motivated him to research and invest in Chainlink was a combination of two key factors:
"Throughout my NBA career, I witnessed the growing role that data played in developing plays and overall team strategy. Anyone who follows the NBA has seen the evolution toward increased three-pointers and attacking the rim. This experience helped me understand the value of data and shaped the types of projects I'm interested in within the blockchain space, including Chainlink."
"Coming into the NBA I told myself I would outwork everyone, then I met Dirk Nowitzki. He changed my perception of what it meant to grind and also the rewards for doing so, especially when the stakes are high. In the early days of Chainlink, it was a small team of talented individuals who kept their heads down focusing on the technical components. Even during the 2017-2018 boom-bust when other projects were making flashy videos and hiring celebrities, I don't think Chainlink even had a marketing team. That hard work and focus is now paying off."
In one of his tweets about Chainlink, Humphries noted that Chainlink is a "long-term play" despite its extremely strong price performance over short time frames.
Building on that statement, CryptoSlate asked him about his vision for Chainlink's future.
In summary, he views the project as a long-term investment due to how essential data is for smart contracts and on-chain applications. "[W]e will see more use cases emerge from smart contracts, and Chainlink holds a unique position in the market," he explained.
As for what he's particularly excited to see in the long run is "retail/individual staking," integration with other blockchains such as Tezos and Polkadot, more price data feeds, additional partnerships, and overall growth in the decentralized finance sector.
