Team ownership is a dream that isn’t rare for professional athletes. Kevin Durant hopes to turn that dream into a reality sooner than later.
Durant is already keeping the vision alive as an owner of a Major League Pickleball team, which was made possible through an investment from Thirty Five Ventures, co-founded alongside Rich Kleiman.
“Kevin clearly will have many opportunities to be associated with NBA teams and organizations, staying around the game his whole life. I hope I do as well. And I hope that the business we’re building puts us in a position one day to be able to have an opportunity to buy into an NBA team,” Kleiman told Insider.
The opportunity would allow for the pair to be heavily involved in the operations and fulfill a checkbox that many are looking to fill.
“I think that at whatever level we were able to do it, being hands-on with an organization is also what’s really appealing,” Kleiman said, according to Insider. “I’d love to be able to operate as a CEO of an NBA organization, and I’m sure Kevin would love to be able to have a hand in building, from a player and operational standpoint, being able to build a roster. But I think that that’s everyone’s dream right now in some capacity in our world.”
Durant isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. He is also interested in tapping into the fiery race for the Washington Commanders if the opportunity presents itself.
“In a perfect world, I would be a part of it,” Durant told ESPN. “I would love to do it. I would love to give a little bit of my money to be a part of the Commanders, but we’ll see. Hopefully it’s somebody nice. I heard [Amazon CEO Jeff] Bezos and Jay-Z, but you never know.”
