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2024 Paris Olympics

Nike gives Kevin Durant his own commercial after he makes Team USA history

© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Nike had a little something in store for Kevin Durant to celebrate him becoming Team USA basketball’s all-time Olympic leading scorer today.

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After Durant was surprisingly left out of Nike’s original “winning isn’t for everyone” Olympic campaign and voiced his frustration with the omission, Nike gave him his own commercial today, narrated by Deion Sanders.

“There’s a reaper … And every four years, your time runs out … You might forget your debts, but he’s ready to collect,” Sanders says in the commercial as highlights of Durant play in the background.

Durant now has 494 career Olympic points after scoring 11 in Team USA’s 122-87 win over Brazil Tuesday, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s 488 career points, as he continues his quest for his fourth Olympic gold medal, which would be the most in USA men’s basketball history.

On July 19, Nike released the first commercial narrated by William Defoe, and it featured numerous Olympic athletes, including NBA stars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Victor Wembanyama. The purpose of the campaign is to showcase the intensity that athletes go through to reach elite status.

“@nike tell me, Am I a bad person?????” Durant posted on his Instagram story in response to this commercial, which opens up with the words “Am I a bad person?”

Nike first signed Durant in 2007 when he was drafted No. 2 overall by the Seattle Supersonics. Durant recently launched his 17th signature shoe with Nike, the KD17, and is one of four athletes to have a lifetime deal with the company, along with James, Michael Jordan, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Entering this Olympics, Durant was already statistically the best Olympian ever for the United States men’s basketball team, so it seemed strange to leave him out of the commercial. Before Paris, Durant led each of the last three Olympic teams in scoring, and they all won the gold medal. He is currently averaging 14.8 points on 60% shooting in the U.S.’s four games in Paris.

“That’s Captain America status,” Suns teammate Devin Booker said of Durant’s record postgame. “I feel like he has every record, every Olympic record. Now we have to get him his fourth gold, that’ll be the most as a men’s player also. He’s a hard-worker, now that we’re teammates, I get to see it behind the scenes and all he cares about is hoops. He loves it, 24/7 that’s all he does.”

Now, Durant gets to be singularly recognized for the greatness he has brought to USA basketball with this commercial.

Kevin Durant appears unhappy with exclusion from new Nike Olympics campaign

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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