Rockets' Kevin Durant Strikes NIL Deal with University of Texas

Houston Rockets superstar forward Kevin Durant has an affinity for the University of Texas, where he starred collegiately in 2007. Even though Durant spent just nine months on the campus, it left a mark on him.

He had a memorable experience. Durant averaged 25.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 47.3 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from long-range and 81.6 percent from the foul line.

The Longhorns went 25-10 that season and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament before getting eliminated by the University of Southern California. Durant had 30 points and nine rebounds in the match, going 11-of-24.

Off the court, Durant has made it a point to gift the university their own colorway of his sneakers, in both the past and present years. There's always an orange colorway of any of Durant's sneaker releases.

Durant has previously expressed a desire to sign athletes to his brand, in addition to establishing a business partnership with the universty. This month, Durant got his wish, as he and Nike collaborated to create an NIL venture, specifically geared towards University of Texas athletes.

Durant's first signing was Lady Longhorns superstar Madison Booker, who has been donning a custom colorway of the KD 19 sneaker, which is set to officially release this June.

Durant has also signed 16 more University of Texas athletes to the same NIL deal under the KD line. The list is below:

Aiden Robbins (Baseball)
Dylan Volantis (Baseball)
Jonah Williams (Baseball/Football)
Dia Bell (Football)
Cam Coleman (Football)
Colin Simmons (Football)
Ryan Wingo (Football)
Tommy Morrison (Golf)
Farah O'Keefe (Golf)
Ava McDonald (Soccer)
Reese Atwood (Softball)
Teagan Kavan (Softball)
Hubert Kos (Swimming)
Eva Okaro (Swimming)
Cari Spears (Volleyball)
Torrey Stafford (Volleyball)

It's worth noting that Durant's line was expected to be exclusively for basketball players, regardless of whether on the men's basketball side or the women's basketball side. Branching out beyond basketball allows Durant to achieve his goal, which is to sign a litany of athletes, with the main goal of helping as many athletes as possible.

On the hardwood, Durant has been as advertised, to put it politely. Aside from the historical feats (i.e. passing Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki on the all-time scoring list, in addition to passing Kobe Bryant on the 30-game historical tracker), he's carried this year's Houston Rockets team. The team is nearly on an identical pace as last season’s Cinderella team yet has been dealt a mountain of significant injuries. Durant has hit multiple game-winning shots for the Rockets and ranks seventh this season in 30-point games.