The Mount Maunganui brothers behind a multimillion-dollar app business have signed a major new contract in the United States.
Peter and Brendan Howell launched DROPIT, a reverse auction app with a 60-second countdown, in the Mount in November 2015.
The company has since moved its headquarters to Miami, and in August the pair sat down with the Bay of Plenty Times to talk about how they found a niche for their app the lucrative world of American sports, rolling out their technology in-stadium to entertain and engage fans during breaks in the play.
Late last week they signed a contract with the NBA's Phoenix Suns to bring DROPIT to home matches during the 2017/18 season.
Company chief executive officer Peter Howell said the partnership with the Suns was a "game changer".
"The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball in the world and so it is a very proud moment for us, highlighting our beginnings from a small-scale Kiwi start-up to a global tech company."
Mr Howell said he could not say how much the deal was worth due to confidentiality agreements in the contract.
The DROPIT live drop auctions will be broadcast simultaneously on Phoenix Suns' in-stadium big screens and fans' mobile phones. Fans will essentially play "chicken" for chances to win exclusive items and experiences.
Phoenix Suns chief commercial officer and senior vice-president of innovation Dan Costello said the team was excited about the new partnership.
"We are always looking to team up with like-minded partners that assist in elevating the game day experience and are excited about our new partnership with DROPIT.
"We think our fans will love it and Talking Stick Resort Arena is a terrific venue to showcase the DROPIT app's capabilities."
The Suns were not the first Phoenix team to work with DROPIT. The app launched in the city in March during two Major League Baseball spring training games.
In front of 20,000 fans, the app auctioned off a 2017 Ducati Panigale 959 and a Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.