🏀NBA Star Kevin Durant Goes Crypto With Coinbase Deal
🗽Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has agreed to a new promotional deal with crypto exchange Coinbase.
Kevin Durant and Coinbase are both celebrating today, as they announce the deal. Kevin Durant will represent the Coinbase brand, while Coinbase will support Kevin’s Boardroom website and his foundation.
“Kevin does very, very few brand deals and that was by design,” Rich Kleiman, Durant’s manager, told Bloomberg that broke the story.
“They’re this new model of a brand partner for us, where they do integrate into all different parts of our business,” he added.
“Even when I was younger, I was always curious about the business side of things and always trying to learn from the people I’ve gotten to meet along the way. Basketball was always number one for me, but it was clear that there was a lot more that I could accomplish if I had the right team around me,” he said.
Durant was also an early Coinbase investor. In November, he and Kleiman launched a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Infinite Acquisition Corp., with one eye on the crypto industry.
The SPAC is a collaboration between Thirty-Five Ventures (Durant's investment firm) and investment and banking firm LionTree.
In a recent Infinite SEC filing, a broad scope of acquisition targets ranged from the sports industry, health and wellness, e-commerce, food technology, and the supply industry.
The crypto industry was of particular highlight in the filing. "These technologies make the internet ownable, providing new ways to reward and compensate creators for their work allowing unbound creativity," the filing read.
“Kevin is a perfect partner for Coinbase because he is genuinely experienced and excited about crypto,” said Kate Rouch, Coinbase’s chief marketing officer. “He is a builder and embodies an entrepreneurial spirit that we look for in our partners. His authenticity will be critically important to helping us reach millions of fans around the world.”
“Durant’s Coinbase deal marks the latest in a long line of partnerships established between crypto companies and sports stars and franchises.
To celebrate the partnership, Coinbase is releasing a welcome message Wednesday, created by artist Jayce Hall, which will be featured in digital and out-of-home advertising across the country. And as part of its integration with KDCF, Coinbase also will help foster crypto education for young people, including opportunities for careers in the space. Now with an expanded partnership with Durant, Thirty Five Ventures and Boardroom, Coinbase will further advance its goal to engage with new customers about the benefits of crypto and NFTs as it looks to bring 1 billion people into the crypto economy.
