What’s good everyone? Like I promised, I’m back on my blog to talk about that announcement I’m in New York City for.
Well, you might have heard by now that I’m on the cover of the new EA Sports video game NBA Elite 11!
Seeing myself on the cover of that game, I really can’t explain it any other way except for how much of a blessing it is. I’m truly, truly blessed.
I’ve been playing that game ever since I was eight or nine years old – and every year I’m excited to see who’s on the cover. I just can’t believe it’s me!
It‘s a good cover and a good game and I’m very thankful to EA Sports for putting me on this year’s cover. I’ve just got to go out there and continue to keep playing hard and hopefully good things continue to come my way. But like I said, I’m just very blessed and appreciative for this.
When I sit down to play this game you can bet I’m going to play with our team, the Thunder. I remember when I was on the March Madness ’08 cover, which was an EA Sports game, too. That was a dream come true back then. This is my second one and it hasn’t gotten old – it’s still a dream come true. Now that I’m on the biggest stage it’s just cooler. I’m excited to play it!
So make sure to go out and get yourself a copy of NBA Elite 11 when it drops in October. I’ll make sure to give you all the heads up when the demo drops. For now, go to NBAElite.com to find out everything EA is doing with the game.
Make sure to come back to my blog tomorrow, as I’ll give my thoughts on the NBA Finals and the NBA Draft.
Redwood City, Calif. – Tuesday, June 22, 2010 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that Oklahoma City Thunder small forward, Kevin Durant, will be the cover athlete for NBA ELITE 11. A 2010 NBA All-Star, Durant became the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring this past season, and he helped lead the Thunder to an impressive 50 win season and an NBA Playoffs berth. NBA ELITE 11 is currently in development under the EA SPORTS™ brand by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. and will be available worldwide this October.
NBA ELITE 11 introduces significant gameplay changes that promise to revolutionize the basketball videogame experience. Hands-On Control is an innovative new control scheme that allows for one-to-one responsiveness of a player’s movement and actions on the court, as opposed to predetermined animations from the past that require users to wait while a scenario played out before making the next move. Hands-On Control is unique to NBA ELITE 11 and it is used to manage everything within a player’s offensive and defensive arsenal, including: dribble moves, dunks, drives to the basket, fadeaways, mid-air adjustments, blocks, steals and more.
“I’ve always been a fan of EA SPORTS,” said Durant. “This has been an exciting year for me and the team, and capping it off with being on the cover of NBA ELITE 11 is cool.”
“Durant is a game changer,” said Jordan Edelstein, VP Marketing, EA SPORTS. “There has never been a player his size with his skill set, and there has never before been a basketball videogame like NBA ELITE. Just like we see Durant as the future of the NBA, NBA ELITE 11 represents the future of basketball videogames by providing a gameplay experience you simply won’t find anywhere else on the market.”
Picked second overall in the 2007 NBA Entry Draft, Durant has accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments in his short professional career, including being named the 2008 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year. Additionally, he will be representing the USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championships this summer in Turkey.
Durant is only the third player in EA SPORTS history to be featured both on the pack of an NCAA and an NBA licensed product. Durant was featured on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08.
NBA ELITE 11 will be available for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information, log onto http://nbaelite.easports.com
EA SPORTS™ is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMA and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, and EA SPORTS Active™.
For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.
What’s going on everyone? I just arrived in New York City, my second time here in a month! I’m here for some more announcements and appearances that I’ll fill you in on later. But in the meantime I just wanted to catch you guys up on what’s been going on with me.
If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook then you probably saw that I had a good time on my tour through China with Nike Basketball. This was my second time in China but this year was different because both my dad and James Harden came along for the trip and they helped make it a lot of fun. We ran some camps with Nike, taught skills, met a lot of kids and just let everyone know how much hard work it takes to get to this level. It was all about interacting with the kids and letting them know that if they want to reach the NBA they have to work harder than the next person.
Aside from basketball my favorite part of the trip, hands-down, was our visit to the Great Wall of China. It’s more than just a wall, it’s a significant part of history that’s been there for thousands of years. Walking the Great Wall and knowing that not everyone gets this opportunity was such an experience. And it was a good, hard workout, too!
I also had a chance to hang out with some pretty chill panda bears. I swear, they were like humans. That was another highlight of mine.
After China I was back on the road to New York City to help Nike and USA Basketball announce the World Basketball Festival that will take place in Manhattan in mid August, and I’m proud that I was one of the guys who helped them with the announcement.
It’ll be a great chance to make sure fans know all about the World Championships. That’s a main goal, so the World Basketball Festival should be a blast. I can’t wait to play hoops outside in Times Square and I hope everyone else is, too. I know it’s not the Olympics, but hopefully people will get excited for us when we go over to Turkey. We’re all looking forward to that experience.
Also, I’ve been getting a lot of questions as to why I chose jersey No. 5. Well, I took the KG concept: there’s five guys on the floor so I want that number five to represent every guy on the floor. USA Basketball is a team thing. It’s not just me. It’s not just about the point guard or the small forward, it’s about everybody. It’s not about what I can do, it’s about how our team can operate together, so that’s why I picked it.
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about what I’m doing in NYC this time around. And then comeback on Thursday, too, when I’ll give my thoughts on the NBA Finals and the NBA Draft that will be held later that evening.
Last week KD was in New York city to help Nike and USA Basketball announce the World Basketball Festival and also introduce the new Nike Hyperfuse shoe and Hyperelight uniform to the world.
The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball’s leading brands within the NIKE Inc. portfolio – Converse, the Jordan Brand, and Nike Basketball.
The World Basketball Festival is a uniquely dynamic event, from the moment it tips off with a showcase featuring members of the 2010 USA Basketball National Team on an open-air court in Times Square, to an unprecedented Times Square performance by a surprise musical act, to the final games of the weekend between four of the best teams in the world at Madison Square Garden.
“The World Basketball Festival will be an unforgettable event for the people of New York City and basketball fans around the world,” said Charlie Denson, Nike Brand President. “Every two years we plan to connect the global world of basketball to celebrate the sport while leaving a lasting legacy within the community.”
From Times Square on August 12, the action moves uptown to New York City’s legendary basketball courts at Rucker Park in Harlem, Friday and Saturday, August 13 and 14.
Rucker Park will be home to open-air practices and scrimmages by National Teams from Brazil and Puerto Rico, and training by France, mixed with performances by top international music acts, in addition to a grassroots youth tournament serving as the championships for some of New York’s top summer basketball leagues. Fans will also be invited to participate in clinics here designed to improve training and basketball skills. The two days at Rucker Park will culminate with a special celebration on Saturday, August 14. Details will be provided closer to the day.
The World Basketball Festival concludes Sunday, August 15 with an exciting exhibition double-header featuring the United States taking on France (1 p.m. EDT) and China meeting Puerto Rico (3:30 p.m. EDT) at famed Madison Square Garden.
The exhibition games are being utilized as part of the teams’ preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Turkey, August 28 to September 12.
While playing for Team USA KD will wear the new Nike Hyperfuse shoe.
The Hyperfuse is a super lightweight, highly breathable basketball shoe inspired by the street ball games in China. The composite is comprised of a superior stability layer, a breathable mesh layer and a durable outer skin layer all fused together into a unibody composite design. Hyperfuse also revolutionizes the way shoes are built by “fusing” its distinct layers into an engineered composite to provides a level of precision unattainable with traditional cut-and-sew construction. With Hyperfuse, additive overlays are eliminated and engineered zones of support are placed precisely where they are needed. The Hyperfuse’s seamless unibody design helps eliminate potential hotspots and wear points in footwear. And at roughly 12.5 ounces for a size 9, the shoe embodies superior lightweight performance. The design was inspired by Chinese basketball players and their need for shoes that are lightweight, can hold up outdoors, and have great traction/breathability.
Here’s video of Shane Kohatsu and Fred Dojan of Nike’s Innovative Kitchen breaking down the concept behind Hyperfuse
In addition to the Hyperfuse, KD and his Team USA teammates will be wearing Nike’s new Hyperelite uniform as part of their uniform. They are essentially the lightest, most durable uniforms Nike has ever produced. The jerseys have 13 inches less fabric than a typical basketball jersey and the shorts weigh less wet (10.1 oz.) than a normal pair does dry (13.6 oz.).
Here’s a look at KD and Yi Jianlian wearing the new Hyperelite uniforms:
Take a look at this piece from ESPN.com on the influence Kevin’s mom Wanda Pratt has had on his basketball career.
Before he had even reached the age of 10, Kevin Durant had settled on his future profession.
He wanted to be an NBA player. It was that simple.
So he sat down his mother, Wanda Pratt, to make his plans known.
Pratt, a single parent of two for most of Durant’s childhood, did what any mother would, promising to help him any way she could. But even Durant wasn’t prepared for how far Pratt was willing go.
She enlisted a family friend, Taras “Stink” Brown, to help with the physical part; Brown would run a young Durant ragged with endless amounts of sprints and suicides up and down hills in his hometown of Seat Pleasant, Md.
Pratt, meanwhile, would take care of the drive — both by carting Durant and his older brother, Tony, to practices upon practices and by making sure he stayed focused.
What’s good everyone? I’m back in the States now, but I wanted to share video from the last leg of my China Tour with everyone. Check it out and let me know what you think. I’ll blog more about my trip to China when I get some free time.
What’s good everyone? As promised, here’s some video of my tour in China. Beijing, the Great Wall and Chengdu…now I’m in Shanghai.
I’m leaving tomorrow for New York for another Nike event. Man, I’m so tired that I’m sleep walking now. But this is exciting, so even with no energy you know I have to be turned all the way up! Anyhow, check out the videos.
P.S. I saw the Nike Zoom KD III and you’re not going to be disappointed. They are craaaazzzzyyyy.
KD is currently touring China with Nike Basketball. As part of the tour, Nike has released a special colorway of KD’s immensely popular Zoom KD II sneaker in China. The shoe honors Tsinghua High School for winning its third consecutive Chinese National Championship in basketball. Only 100 pairs were released in China, so this is truly a special edition and a fitting tribute to the Tsinghua High School squad.
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