After shocking the NBA world earlier this month when he announced that he would be leaving his Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant is back to business.
This week, Durant will tour China with Nike, stopping in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Taipei and holding basketball clinics for local kids. Although Durant is also training for the upcoming Rio Olympics, he’ll also make some time to take in some of the local sites.
“You don’t know how big the world is until you actually go and see different cultures and see different people,” said Durant. “I think that feeling is what makes this whole thing special.”
Nike has continued to expand its presence in China over the past 20 years, with some of its other top players such as Kobe Bryant also making visits.
The brand recently unveiled the next iteration of Durant’s signature shoe, the KD9. The next two colorways to drop will be the KD9 “Unlimited” and the KD9 “Birds of Paradise” on Aug. 4 and Aug. 19, respectively.
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The KD9 was created by designer Leo Chang, who decided to use Nike’s Flyknit technology for the first time in Durant’s signature shoes.
“My interests have changed, my game has changed, and this is a perfect shoe for who I am now,” said Durant. “The upper allows me to shift to the right and come back to my left really quick and pull up on a dime. The shoes are perfectly catered to my foot, like I molded these and got a special pair made. That’s what I want everybody to feel who puts these on. It will feel personal.”
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