Kevin Durant x Nike: Suns Star Baffled as Nets Insider Beats Him to Own Exclusive Signature Line

Published 03/24/2024, 2:10 PM EDT

Kevin Durant boasts one of the strongest sneaker resumes in league history. KD was among the few players to strike a deal with footwear giant Nike in the same year he made his NBA debut. This partnership, forged in 2007, led to the creation and release of Durant’s inaugural signature shoe, the Nike Zoom KD1, in 2008.

Since then, his signature shoe line has been a stalwart fixture of Nike’s basketball division, set to release its 17th installment on April 12. The collaboration has also produced a fair share of player-exclusive shoes. However, their most recent pair, KD16 PEs, in the purple and yellow colorway, ended up in the hands of the Long Island Nets’ assistant coach before they even reached Kevin Durant himself.

Larry D. Williams took to Instagram to flaunt his new kicks and teased, “won’t find these on snkrs.” This caught the attention of the Phoenix Suns’ star, who expressed his surprise, replying, “Damn I ain’t got these.” Unfortunately, these are from an exclusive range not available to the public. The closest fans can get to a similar pair is by purchasing “B.A.D” or “Pathway Royalties” colorways, both of which retail at $160.

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Steering away from sneakers, the mention of the Nets takes one to July of 2019, when Durant moved to Brooklyn just weeks after rupturing his Achilles tendon. After he formed a spectacular one-two punch tandem with Kyrie Irving and eventually forged a formidable superteam with James Harden, the Nets seemed poised for greatness. However, instead of on-court glory, the Nets were plagued by off-court controversies and dramas. Eventually, tired of the inconsistency, Durant forced his way out of the Nets for greener pastures.

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Kevin Durant’s quest for another championship continues

KD was traded to the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 3 last year. Within five months, they also roped in Bradley Beal to form a big three with Devin Booker and KD. The Suns had grand visions of a healthy Big 3 leading the league’s most potent offense, securing a top seed, and embarking on a deep playoff journey. But that’s far from the reality. The three stars have only played 29 games together so far in the season due to injuries to one or the other among them, giving them little time to build chemistry.

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Despite this, stats show that the Suns have a stellar 8.1 net rating with these three together on the court. Moreover, their offense has been nearly unguardable with a 123.8 offensive rating when the trio is on the floor. So, the health of their three All-Star players will be the most important thing for the Suns if they are to make a deep playoff run.

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Written by:

Darshita is an NBA Writer at EssentiallySports who is creating her own space in the spectrum of sport journalism. Darshita specializes in dissecting post-game interviews, trade, and contracts. Her appetite for literature, akin to her affection for the Milwaukee Bucks, knows no bounds.

Edited by:

Aazima Basharat

Kevin Durant x Nike: Suns Star Baffled as Nets Insider Beats Him to Own Exclusive Signature Line

Kevin Durant’s quest for another championship continues

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