Kevin Durant is an MVP on the basketball court and in the business world.
- Kevin Durant is 2x NBA champion, 2x Finals MVP, and the 2013-14 MVP
- Durant has started his own venture capital firm named Thirty Five Ventures
- Durant has a net worth of $200 million
Kevin Durant is one of the most successful basketball players of all time, with numerous awards and accolades under his belt. But what many people don’t know is that he is also a successful businessman who has built an empire off the court.
From investing in tech startups to launching his own media company, Durant has proven himself to be a savvy entrepreneur with an eye for opportunity. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Durant’s business ventures, how he got started, and what made his empire so successful.
We’ll also explore some key lessons that aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from Durant’s experience and apply to their own ventures. Whether you’re a basketball fan or a business enthusiast, there’s something to be learned from Kevin Durant’s unstoppable business empire.
Kevin Durant: Endorsements
Kevin Durant is easily one of the best players, not only in today’s NBA but in the entire history of the game. Durant is a 2× NBA champion, 2× NBA Finals MVP, 13× NBA All-Star, 2008 NBA Rookie of the Year, and 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player.
Durant is also one of the purest scorers the game has ever seen. He’s won four scoring titles in his career.
It’s safe to say the 34-year-old has achieved a lot in his life. But his success isn’t only reserved for just basketball. In fact, Durant has established himself as a successful businessman.
First, let’s discuss Durant’s top endorsement deals.
– Nike
– Gatorade
– Degree
– Beats
– Coinbase
– 2k Sports
Durant is reportedly earning around $45 million from his endorsements, with Nike being his biggest endorsement, earning $300 million from the shoe giant. Oh, and it’s said Nike also offered him a retirement package on top of the $300 million.
So, as you can see, Durant lends his name to many brands, but what we really want to discover is what Durant lends his money to. Yes, we will look at Durant’s biggest investments and discover how he became the successful businessman he is today.
Kevin Durant: Investments
Kevin Durant is a crafty businessman. Like many other great NBA players, he doesn’t completely focus on basketball, as he understands life will go on after retiring from the NBA.
Durant has made wise business choices, which has helped him drastically in earning a net worth of $200 million as of 2023. For his NBA career, Durant has so far earned $350,297,591 over his 16-year career.
Now that you know which brands have endorsed Durant and how much he has made in his NBA career, it’s time to look at KD’s financial portfolio.
Without further ado, here are Kevin Durant’s major investments:
Thirty Five Ventures
Let’s start with Thirty Five Ventures, which is a venture capital firm founded by Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman. This company invests in early-stage and start-up companies.
So far, Thirty Five Ventures has invested in 62 companies, and we don’t see that stopping anytime soon. Durant has truly started something that will continue to rake in the money, long after he retires from the NBA.
Boardroom
Durant’s Boardroom is a media brand that focuses on the business side of sports, music, and entertainment. It’s said that Durant’s Boardroom has 25 people working in the company.
Boardroom focuses on videos, podcasts, and digital news. In the next few years, we might see Boardroom become the next big media company.
Coinbase
Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, invested in Coinbase, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company with a $1.6 billion valuation. KD and his Thirty Five Ventures have big plans that go more than just investing money.
Durant’s company has plans to create NFTs, as well as help educate Coinbase’s users on NFTs. This is certainly an MVP move by Durant.
As of 2021, Coinbase was valued at $100 billion. This is an incredible increase in value, and it only helps Durant’s net worth in its continuous growth.
MLS’ Philadelphia Union
Durant is a part owner of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union. He purchased a 5% stake in 2020, with the option to purchase an additional 5% in the future.
“I’m excited to partner with the Philadelphia Union for years to come. My team and I connected instantly with the Union coaching staff and leadership, as well as the team’s story,” Durant said. “Off the pitch, I’m looking forward to working in the Chester and Philadelphia communities and making an impact in the same way that the KDCF has been able to in my hometown of Prince George’s County.”
It’s not known how much money Durant has placed into the team, but there’s one thing we know for sure. If a big-name NBA player is joining the franchise as a part owner, that can only help the team’s value increase.
NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The Philadelphia Union is not the only professional team Durant has purchased a stake in. He has also bought ownership in a team that’s part of the National Women’s Soccer League.
This time, Durant purchased an unknown percentage of the team in 2022. Durant is truly trying to build a sports empire with his Thirty Five Ventures.
But believe it or not, this would not be the last sports team Durant would invest in. In fact, Durant would follow one of his NBA rivals in his next sports ownership…
MLP’s Brooklyn Aces
Pickleball. Yes, the sport of pickleball has really started to gain popularity over the past few years. So much so that NBA legend, LeBron James, has invested in a team that is part of Major League Pickleball.
As of 2022, Durant and his business partner have joined the MLP as owners of an expansion pickleball team. It’s not known how much Durant and his team have invested in the franchise.
Durant’s team is the Brooklyn Aces, and Durant has used his newly founded team differently compared to other teams in the MLP. Durant has focused on getting the sport of pickleball more known to “underserved populations” as he tries to bring awareness to the sport and his new team.
In fact, Durant’s squad has held what is known as Aces Day of Play. This is a youth-focused Pickleball event that encourages young kids in Manhattan to learn the game of pickleball.
Who knows, maybe one day in the future, pickleball will dominate the sports world. If Durant and his Brooklyn Aces have their way, it will be.
League One Volleyball
Durant is back at it again, investing in yet another sports-related company. This time, rather than investing in a team, Durant has invested in an entire league.
The league Durant has invested in is a new volleyball league named League One Volleyball. Once again, it’s unknown how much Durant has actually invested, but overall, the league saw $16.75 million raised in its first round of investments.
It’s safe to say by the time Durant retires from the NBA that, he will have invested in every sports league imagined. Will owning an NBA team be next on Durant’s investment list?
SeatGeek
SeatGeek is a company that allows its users to buy and sell tickets to sporting events, concerts, and more on its platform. This is something that caught his and Thirty Five Ventures’ eyes.
Durant and his team joined a larger group to invest $100 million in the company. Once again, this is a way for Durant to put a stranglehold on the sports world, but in a different way from owning a team.
If Durant keeps this up, you won’t be able to spell sports without Durant’s name. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.
Draftea
What’s one of the biggest sports-related industries in today’s world? If you guessed fantasy sports, then you would be correct.
As mentioned above, Durant appears to be trying to get his hands on anything and everything sports related. So, it should not come as a surprise to find out he’s invested in Drafttea, a fantasy sports platform.
Draftea is a fantasy sports platform for Spanish-speaking countries, and Durant and his team invested $4 million in the company. As big as sports are in Spanish-speaking countries, especially soccer, this could be a wise investment from the NBA star.
Stadium Live
Stadium Live is yet another sports-related platform Durant has invested in. Durant and his team have invested $10 million into Stadium Live, and maybe it’s because of its uniqueness.
Stadium Live is different from everything else Durant has invested in. It’s a sports community where users have their own avatars that they buy items for.
On top of purchasing items for their avatar, users earn coins while watching sports streams. This truly is the wave of the future, and Durant’s surfing along the current.
Acorns
We finally get out of the sports world with Durant’s next investment. This time, we dive into the world of micro-investing. Acorns allows everyday users to get their hands in the investing world.
Durant, being the savvy businessman he is, could not pass up the opportunity to invest in the investment company. Back in 2016, Durant and his team invested an undisclosed amount in the company.
Even though we don’t know how much money Durant put into the investment company, we know he’s making out pretty well. In 2019, Acorns had a $860 million valuation. As of 2022, this valuation was now close to $2 billion.
Like in the NBA, Durant is an MVP in the business world. And it doesn’t appear that Durant will be slowing down anytime soon.
Postmates
Durant famously invested in Postmates back in 2016, and this time, we know exactly how much he invested. KD invested $1 million into the on-demand food and goods delivery service.
This investment for Durant was extremely wise. In 2020, during the height of people being stuck in their homes, thanks to COVID-19, Uber purchased Postmates.
This purchase by Uber netted Durant $15 million. Talk about a swish.
NBA star Kevin Durant and his Thirty Five Ventures business are on the verge of a 15-fold return on a roughly $1 million investment in food-delivery service Postmates https://t.co/tDkLW9UrcP by @kbadenhausen pic.twitter.com/KOxMCEI8co
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 30, 2020
Kevin Durant’s unstoppable business empire serves as a testament to his extraordinary talent, resilience, and unwavering commitment to success. He has seamlessly transitioned from the basketball court to the boardroom, leaving a lasting impact on both worlds and setting the stage for a future filled with even greater accomplishments.
What will be Durant’s next big investment? We can only sit back and wait to see. But, as mentioned earlier, once he retires, maybe we’ll see KD become the next NBA team owner.
