Durant is the first ever active NBA player to visit the NBA Academy in Noida.
Kevin Durant of Golden State Warriors, who is on his India visit to support the growth of basketball and to train the students at the NBA Academy India visited Taj Mahal on Sunday after a record breaking basketball training session.
Durant posted a YouTube video of him moving in and around the famed historic monument calling it an “amazing experience.” He can be seen in the video saying “there is so much of history” behind the tomb.
In the course of India tour, Durant inaugurated two new basketball courts at Ramjas School as part of the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation’s BUILD IT AND THEY WILL BALL Courts Renovation Initiative.
The 6-foot-9-inch forward has become the first ever active NBA player to visit the NBA Academy in Noida that trains the best of India’s basketball talents.
Durant also conducted a mega basketball clinic for 5,000 youth from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program. More than a thousand athletes were present on site, while another 4,000 boys and girls joined from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata via a satellite link.
Kevin Durant x The Taj Mahal! pic.twitter.com/YYzC7lEUCe
— NBA (@NBA) July 29, 2017
Welcome to India @NBA Champion Kevin Durant! Appreciate your efforts to help promote basketball in India. #DurantinIndia @KDTrey5 @nbaindia pic.twitter.com/4gnhWXN85z
— U.S. Ambassador to India (@USAmbIndia) July 29, 2017
“I’m excited to travel to India to help promote the game of basketball and meet the prospects at The NBA Academy India,” Durant said before his India visit. “I’ve wanted to visit India for a long time, and I can’t wait to experience the country’s unique culture and share my knowledge with the kids there.”
After the largest basketball lesson, which has now entered the Guinness Book of World Records, Durant said, “Sharing my love of basketball with thousands of boys and girls across India was an unbelievable experience. It was an honor to coach these amazing kids and to be a part of this special day.”
“Sports (have) the ability to unite people, and this record-setting NBA clinic led by Finals MVP Kevin Durant helped us connect young basketball players throughout the country in a single event,” said NBA India’s managing director Yannick Colaco.
The NBA Academy India, located at Jaypee Greens Integrated Sports Complex, Greater Noida, was officially opened in May. The academy offers students an opportunity to compete against top competition throughout the year and a few selected students get a chance to travel with teams that play in international tournaments and exhibition games.
Durant, who is from the University of Texas, is an eight-time NBA All-Star. As a 2014 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Durant averaged 25.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game during the 2016-17 NBA season while leading the Golden State Warriors to the franchise’s fifth NBA Championship.