He may be an eight-time NBA All-Star and twice MVP, but on Friday, Kevin Durant was all about shooting hoops and mingling with kids, and guiding the first batch of trainees in having fun with basketball at the NBA Academy in Greater Noida.
On his maiden visit to India, the Golden State Warriors forward spoke of how excited he was to be here. While observing that there was a long way to go for basketball to make serious inroads in the country, he expressed hope that an Indian would make it through to the most popular basketball league in the world sooner than later.
“I haven’t played cricket before but I know how deep the sport is in the culture here. It will take some time for basketball to take over. But we had to start somewhere and this is a great start,” said the 6-feet-10 Durant said in a brief interaction with the media on the sidelines of his basketball clinic at the Academy here.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We want to keep growing the game and see more and more kids start playing.”
While he arrived in the city on Thursday and attended a glitzy party with Abhishek Bachchan, Virender Sehwag and Vijay Amritraj in the evening, Friday was all about basketball.
He is likely to round off his visit with a trip to the Taj Mahal on his third and final day in the country.
ADVERTISEMENT
When asked about the possibility of Indians making the cut in the NBA, the 28-year old Durant said: “It’s on us NBA players to inspire new basketball players, players that haven’t really enjoyed the game before. It’s on us and you guys (the media) to show them what the game is all about.
“I think the buzz around basketball here is just growing. Just be patient and we will see more. It’s a great market and a great place to be in.”
Only two Indians — Palpreet Singh Brar and Satnam Singh Bhamara — have managed to get picked up in the NBA draft so far and found a place in the Development League.
Having won the NBA championship with the Warriors last year, Durant is now concentrating on working on his fitness at the moment and preparing for the upcoming season.
“There are a lot of young players coming through, so it’s exciting to see them in the league,” he said.
Durant then got together with 831 kids here, along with others spread across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru for a total of 3,459 kids, in a new Guinness record for a simultaneous practice session.
The previous record was around 600 children.