Kevin Durant? Good ballplayer: MVP, NBA champion. Now that he’s posted up in Silicon Valley, he’s rapidly approaching a new title: tycoon.
When Kevin Durant moved from Oklahoma City to the Bay Area, he didn’t just do it to win a title—he did it to reap the benefits of the technology investment capital of the world. Less than two years later, Durant has gone from holding the most endorsements in the NBA (at one time more than 10) to owning one of the most wide-ranging investment portfolios in the league.
His roster is deep, and it speaks to his ambition to seek more than mere fame. His slimmed-down endorsement portfolio includes Nike, Alaska Airlines and American Family Insurance. Durant’s Thirty Five Media not only produces his content on YouTube but also other original content for the platform. The company recently sold to Apple its first scripted series, called Swagger, loosely based on Durant’s AAU days, and has two other projects in development with major TV networks. His investment arm, the Durant Company, claims early stage investments from $250,000 to $1 million in roughly 30 companies through a network of venture capitalists, including online digital-currency platform Coinbase, spare-change app Acorns, cloud-computing startup Rubrik, drink company WTRMLN WTR, fast-casual pizza chain Pieology, bike-sharing company LimeBike and delivery company Postmates.
Clearly, Durant has been dropping dimes of the literal kind. So we sat down with him to discuss his presence in Silicon Valley, his growing empire and whether his ultimate investment might come in the form of an owner’s suite.
ESPN: How much smarter of a businessman are you than you were, say, two years ago?
This story is from the June 04, 2018 edition of ESPN The Magazine.
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This story is from the June 04, 2018 edition of ESPN The Magazine.
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