Want to know how Kevin Durant is successful in almost everything he does? Hint: It’s because he reads.
Kevin Durant is a monster on the basketball court.
He won the NBA MVP in 2014, won back-to-back championship titles (along with two Final’s MVP awards), was voted to be an All-Star more than 10 times, and was the scoring champ for 3 consecutive years.
But, like his contemporary, LeBron James, he knows ball isn’t life and he doesn’t just do work on the hardwood –Durant is also a successful businessman and philanthropist.
After being drafted with the second overall pick, Durant got right to work building his off-court endeavours.
He started by picking the brains of the wisest in the league and educated himself.
While playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2008-to-2016, he started investing and building businesses.
For his first venture, he partnered up and opened a restaurant, KD’s Southern Cuisine, in the Bricktown neighborhood (an entertainment district) of the city. However, since his departure (which I’ll talk about later), the restaurant has reopened as a new eatery.
Durant also signed multiple endorsement deals during this time with brands such as Nike, Sprint, Gatorade, Panini, General Electric, and 2K Sports.
Kevin Durant’s Company, Thirty Five Ventures
When he left OKC for the Golden State Warriors after the 2015-16 NBA season, Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, founded Thirty Five Ventures, an investment and media company.
He had more knowledge and experience in this world now and this company allowed him to explore and experiment with new ideas.
With it, Durant has been able to invest in a variety of companies, from organic grocery stores to sports teams to cryptocurrency exchange platforms.
Some of the companies he joined are Coinbase, Seat Geek, Whoop, The Player’s Tribune, and Gotham FC, to name a few.
Additionally, this venture has also allowed Durant to get into the media space, where he has produced films and built a media site.
Some of the films he produced are Two Distant Strangers, a film about police brutality which won an Academy Award and an African-American Film Critics Association award; Still KD: Through the Noise, a documentary on his early NBA career; and A Kid from Coney Island, which chronicles the life and career of former NBA star Stephon Marbury.
As for his site, the Boardroom, it’s a media network that consists of articles, interviews, videos, and podcasts that bring fans into the world of sports business and culture.
Kevin Durant’s Philanthropy
On top of all of these ventures, Durant also does a lot of philanthropy through the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.
He has donated millions of dollars to causes that address at-risk youth and emergency responses, such as funds to aid Covid-19 responses for the homeless and donating gear to healthcare workers.
Additionally, he’s also built centers and programs to help kids reach their dreams in the business, STEM, and basketball worlds.
Kevin Durant’s Favorite Books
Kevin Durant is doing a lot and, needless to say, he’ll have plenty of activities to keep him occupied after he is done playing basketball.
But how did he learn all of this information? How did he gain so much knowledge to be able to be so successful in the business world?
Well, it’s because –as I mentioned earlier- he got mentors to help him and he also read a lot.
So, here are some of the books that helped him navigate his way through this unexplored territory:
(The following includes Amazon affiliate links. What this means is that I will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you use it to buy something from the site.)
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- Red and Me by Bill Russell
- Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks For a Better Life by John Wooden and Jay Carty
Final Thoughts
Kevin Durant is an interesting guy.
He has so many interests and is constantly playing around to improve his skills.
Thus, if you want to be skillful and be a multi-hyphenated person like KD (or a renaissance person), then you have to read (preferably the books shared above) like him.