Kevin Durant to make trip to India in effort to boost NBA footprint

 
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 4:54 pm    Post subject: Kevin Durant to make trip to India in effort to boost NBA footprint

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20108448/kevin-durant-golden-state-warriors-visit-india-court-donations-clinics

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Kevin Durant to make trip to India in effort to boost NBA footprint


Golden State Warriors All-Star Kevin Durant will visit India next Thursday to further fortify the growing popularity of basketball in the country and serve as a coach to some of its top players.

The first order of business for the NBA champ and 2017 Finals MVP will be stopping in New Delhi to donate two new basketball courts to the Ramjas School as part of the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.

The eight-time All-Star will then travel to the NBA Academy India in Noida. That's where he'll instruct prospects in a series of basketball drills, in addition to conducting a massive youth clinic with approximately 5,000 male and female participants from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program.

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Durant, who last month led the Warriors to their second championship in three years by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games while averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists, will be the first active NBA player to visit the academy.

"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. "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."

NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco offered his thoughts on the superstar's upcoming visit.

"We are thrilled to host 2017 Finals MVP Kevin Durant in India," Colaco said. "Kevin is coming off an historic season with the Golden State Warriors. Having one of the very best players in our league interact with the basketball-playing youth of India will serve as great inspiration to the next generation of players here, especially the high-performing prospects at the NBA Academy India."

The NBA Academy India, which opened in May, "employs a holistic, 360-degree approach to player development with focuses on education, leadership, character development and life skills," according to an official release. "As part of the program, the students compete against top competition throughout the year and have an opportunity to be selected for travel teams that play in international tournaments and exhibition games."

The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has reached upward of 6 million youth and trained more than 5,000 physical education instructors nationwide since launching in 2013.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:30 pm    Post subject:

Durant was originally going to visit Pakistan until he heard India was the runner up for the most recent South Asian Games and decided that was the better place for him to visit.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:35 pm    Post subject:

i thought it said "Indiana"
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:58 pm    Post subject:

rwongega wrote:
Durant was originally going to visit Pakistan until he heard India was the runner up for the most recent South Asian Games and decided that was the better place for him to visit.





On a serious note I think that Steph Curry should've gone instead.

I mean it markets itself "Indians love Curry"
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:04 am    Post subject:

22 wrote:
i thought it said "Indiana"


He's only visiting places that can realistically improve
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:27 am    Post subject:

Chronicle wrote:
22 wrote:
i thought it said "Indiana"


He's only visiting places that can realistically improve
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 2:59 pm    Post subject:

Basketball Fan wrote:
rwongega wrote:
Durant was originally going to visit Pakistan until he heard India was the runner up for the most recent South Asian Games and decided that was the better place for him to visit.





On a serious note I think that Steph Curry should've gone instead.

I mean it markets itself "Indians love Curry"


Jai Hind!!!
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:22 pm    Post subject:

Chronicle wrote:
22 wrote:
i thought it said "Indiana"


He's only visiting places that can realistically improve
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:24 pm    Post subject:

Basketball Fan wrote:
rwongega wrote:
Durant was originally going to visit Pakistan until he heard India was the runner up for the most recent South Asian Games and decided that was the better place for him to visit.





On a serious note I think that Steph Curry should've gone instead.

I mean it markets itself "Indians love Curry"


Well played, sir.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 6:01 pm    Post subject:

Aeneas Hunter wrote:
Basketball Fan wrote:
rwongega wrote:
Durant was originally going to visit Pakistan until he heard India was the runner up for the most recent South Asian Games and decided that was the better place for him to visit.





On a serious note I think that Steph Curry should've gone instead.

I mean it markets itself "Indians love Curry"


Well played, sir.


I'm a girl.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 7:28 pm    Post subject:

Basketball Fan wrote:
Aeneas Hunter wrote:
Well played, sir.


I'm a girl.


That's really a British-ism, not a gender comment. But, if it makes you more comfortable accepting the compliment, then well played, ma'am.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:36 pm    Post subject:

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2017/07/28/kevin-durant-breaks-guinness-world-record-in-india/

Quote:
Kevin Durant breaks Guinness world record in India


NEW DELHI (AP) Kevin Durant is in India to help the NBA make inroads in a nation of 1.3 billion.

Durant took part in a camp in New Delhi, where the Golden State Warriors star helped set a Guinness world record Friday for the largest basketball lesson – 3,459 participants across multiple venues. The NBA Finals MVP met young players at the NBA Academy, with hundreds more joining by satellite from four other cities across the country.

Durant’s first trip to India is the latest move by the league to grow the game there, much as it is doing in China.

The academy opened in May to train some of the country’s top talents. Since 2008, the NBA has staged more than 1,500 events in 30 Indian cities.
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:43 am    Post subject:

Chronicle wrote:
22 wrote:
i thought it said "Indiana"


He's only visiting places that can realistically improve


roasted
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:16 am    Post subject:

Hopefully he doesn't take his GF on any bus rides....
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:47 am    Post subject:

unleasHell wrote:
Hopefully he doesn't take his GF on any bus rides....


One of a few reasons why I haven't gone back to India since my teens.

The other is that I usually end up getting sick and my body can't handle the environment there.
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:34 am    Post subject:

Here's Durant with the LOB trophy w/ Taj Mahal in background

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DF6omHpV0AAhz9w.jpg
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:30 am    Post subject:

Any Indian players ever made it to the NBA level?

Found this guy: Satnam Singh Bhamara
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 10:43 am    Post subject:

Hammett wrote:
Any Indian players ever made it to the NBA level?

Found this guy: Satnam Singh Bhamara


You also forgot Sim Bhullar but yeah Indians aren't known for sports well American sports anyways.

Our parents were more interested in us being doctors or some other top profession.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 5:09 am    Post subject:

My impression from the lack of top level athletes in major sports and the lack of medals in the Olympic games in really any sport is that Indians just aren't very athletically talented, at least not at the top end.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:49 am    Post subject:

Raijin wrote:
My impression from the lack of top level athletes in major sports and the lack of medals in the Olympic games in really any sport is that Indians just aren't very athletically talented, at least not at the top end.


No we aren't we are probably much better off because of it.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 3:49 pm    Post subject:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/11/durant-apologizes-for-recent-remarks-about-indias-development/

Quote:
Durant apologizes for recent remarks about India’s development

Kevin Durant delivered an apology Friday for called India “20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience” after visiting the country last month.

The Warriors superstar expressed regret in a statement on his YouTube and Twitter profiles.

“Sorry that my comments about India were taken out of context, I’m grateful for the time I’ve got to spend there and I’m really pissed about how my comments came off, that’s my fault, should’ve worded that better,” Durant wrote. “I spoke about the difference between my imagination and reality there in Delhi and about where the game is compared to the rest of the world. No offense from this side, I’m coming back out there for more camps and cool (stuff). Sorry…”

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Social media outrage followed Durant recently telling The Athletic about his trip to India and sounding like he was disparaging the Asian nation.

“It was a unique experience,” Durant told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “I went with no expectation, no view on what it’s supposed to be like. I usually go to places where I at least have a view in my head. India, I’m thinking I’m going to be around palaces and royalty and gold — basically thought I was going to Dubai. Then when I landed there, I saw the culture and how they live and it was rough. It’s a country that’s 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience. You see cows in the street, monkeys running around everywhere, hundreds of people on the side of the road, a million cars and no traffic violations. Just a bunch of underprivileged people there and they want to learn how to play basketball.”

Durant added that those people’s passion for hoops is “really, really dope” and that he painted a picture of his time in Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located.

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“As I was driving up to the Taj Mahal, I said, ‘I thought that this would be holy ground, super protected, very very clean.’ And as I’m driving up, it’s like, (shoot), this used to remind me of some neighborhoods I would ride through as a kid. Mud in the middle of the street, houses were not finished but there were people living in them. No doors. No windows. The cows in the street, stray dogs and then, boom, Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. It’s like holy (stuff), this was built 500 years ago and everyone comes here. It’s just an eye-opener.”

During his trip, Durant took part in setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest’ basketball lesson — which included 3,459 participants beside KD.
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