“As a kid, I couldn’t afford the $120 shoes” – Kevin Durant wanted to make budget-friendly signature shoes his mission before entering the NBA

Even though he spent just one season at Texas, it was clear from the moment Kevin Durant stepped onto an NCAA court that he was a cheat code. Averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds while shooting 47.3 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from deep, and 81.6 percent from the stripe, KD left no doubt about his readiness for the NBA Draft.

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Although he didn’t go all the way with his team, Durant was recognized as the unanimous National Player of the Year, winning the Naismith College Player of the Year Award and all eight other widely recognized honors. This made the future Hall of Famer the first freshman to win any national player-of-the-year award.

With such a pedigree, the 6-foot-11 forward who could shoot, dribble, and pass was destined for success. Even though he fell to the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft, no one questioned the great career ahead of him. But even before making his pro debut, KD was thinking outside the box, revealing a desire to create budget-friendly signature shoes.

“Most definitely. Growing up as a kid, I couldn’t afford the $120 shoes. If I could, I would love to make a shoe that kids at 10, 11, and 12 could afford,” KD told “Inside Hoops”.

Durant eventually fulfilled his promise

Growing up without wealth, having only a basketball, a dream, and the undeniable love and support of his mother, Wanda, Durant always fantasized about playing on NBA courts.

Knowing how hard it is for someone from his background to actually reach that level, Durant made it his mission that, if he ever realized his dream, one of the first things he would do would be to give a glimmer of hope to kids holding onto the same dreams he once had as an 11-year-old.

Like most kids of his generation, KD grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, but a fresh pair of Air Jordans wasn’t something his family could easily buy. Kevin never wanted kids to go through that same feeling with his signature shoes.

As the No. 2 pick in the draft, Durant was flooded with offers and ultimately chose a seven-year, $60 million deal with Nike, which was the second-largest rookie endorsement deal at the time behind only LeBron James, even though Adidas offered him $80 million, which showed KD’s character right off the bat.

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At a time when models for LeBron or Kobe Bryant regularly retailed between $130 and $150 (a hefty price tag for that era, the starting price for the Nike KD 1 was only $88, and the iconic KD IV cost just $95.)

Even though the price was still relatively high, the mere fact that an elite NBA player was selling his Nike signature shoes for under $100 set a major precedent for that time.

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Only the third NBA player in history to sign a lifetime contract with Nike

Durant trusted his game and believed the massive NBA contracts would follow, and boy, was he right. In 2014, he extended with Nike for 10 years and roughly $300 million. It’s worth noting that Under Armour approached him with a similar offer, but Nike and KD were simply a winning, proven combination.

The culmination of it all arrived in 2023 when the two-time NBA champion became only the third NBA player in history (after Jordan and James) to sign a lifetime contract with Nike. The deal is estimated at around $1 billion in total value, giving this wonderful story its perfect happy ending.

However, the two-time Finals MVP is far from finished with Nike, but above all, he honored the promise he made before he was a household name. That selflessness paid off in full, and today, Durant continues to dominate the sneaker market alongside the Swoosh like few before him.

Related: “I’m not going to be forever indebted to the NBA” – Kevin Durant breaks down his 50-50 business relationship with basketball

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