Kevin Durant signs lifetime contract with Nike

Kevin Durant and Nike have enjoyed a beneficial partnership over the years, dating all the way back to 2007, when the former Texas Longhorn signed with the company as a rookie when he was with the Seattle SuperSonics. Since he signed with the company, Nike has released 15 signature shoes for Durant, with their 16th coming in the future. On Friday afternoon, Durant and Nike agreed to a lifetime deal. The news was announced in a press release on Friday on “The Boardroom,” a media company that Durant founded back in 2019 with Rich Klieman.

The former Longhorn joined an elite group of athletes that have signed lifetime deals with the shoe titan, including Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Nike Executive Vice President of Marketing John Slusher said in the release, “As one of best basketball players in the world, Kevin Durant has been an important part of the Nike family for the past 16 years. We look forward to continuing to serve the next generation of athletes together.”

Over the years, Nike has helped Durant participate in many different grassroots programs. They’ve also helped him with his AAU team, Team Durant. The team plays on the highly competitive Nike EYBL Circuit, featuring some of the nation’s top high school basketball stars.

It’s an impressive announcement from Durant and one he should be very proud of.

He’s performed the way everybody expected him to in the Suns’ first round playoff series win over the LA Clippers. Durant averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, as the Suns made quick work of the Clippers, 4-1. The Suns will now set their sights on the Denver Nuggets and their back-to-back MVP, Nikola Jokic.

Kevin Durant will always have a complicated legacy

Durant will end up in the NBA Hall of Fame someday. That much is certain. But his legacy as a basketball player will always remain a complicated one. He has won two NBA crowns with the Warriors and two NBA Finals MVP trophies (2017 and 2018).

But he has clapped back at his critics often in the past, like when Charles Barkley criticized him for his championships with the Warriors. Durant and Barkley have been enemies for quite some time, and it’s safe to say they’ll never be friends. His thin skin has led him to lash out at several of his critics over the years.

Durant has won three Olympic gold medals for Team USA. The last gold medal he won was perhaps the most impressive. The team in the 2020 Olympics struggled mightily early. Team USA lost two early exhibition games, one to Nigeria and Australia. They also lost to France in the preliminary round, but managed to perform well when it counted.

Durant averaged 20.7 points per game during the 2020 competition, a record for Team USA in a single competition. He propelled Team USA to a gold medal victory over France in the Olympic final. The future Hall-of-Famer poured in 29 points, carrying USA to an 87-82 victory. That tournament will go down as one of the better pieces of Durant’s basketball portfolio. There’s no question Team USA comes close to winning without his heroics.

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