Kicks

Nike Says Kevin Durant Is "The Baddest" With New Billboards

Nike celebrated Kevin Durant's Olympic scoring with a viral marketing campaign.

Pat Benson

Nike erected billboards for Kevin Durant.
Nike erected billboards for Kevin Durant. / Nike
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During Tuesday's Olympic basketball quarterfinal game against Serbia, Kevin Durant made history for Team USA. The 14x NBA All-Star broke Lisa Leslie's all-time scoring record in United States Olympic basketball history.

Durant has now scored 495 points in his four Olympic appearances. While the Phoenix Suns forward has changed NBA teams many times, he has remained steadfast in his support of two things: Team USA Basketball and Nike.

So, Durant was understandably miffed when Nike did not include him its "Winning Isn't For Everyone" campaign. Athletes in the video ask if they are a bad person for being so competitive.

Durant blasted Nike on his Instagram story with a series of posts asking if he was a bad person and reminding the American sportswear brand that he had been with Team USA since the 2012 London Olympics.

Well, Nike made it up to Durant with a viral marketing campaign that included billboards and a video narrated by Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders.

In the campaign, Nike's billboards read, "Is KD a bad person? No, he's the baddest." In the video, Nike includes Durant in the "Winning Isn't For Everyone" campaign.

It appears that the riff between Nike and Durant is over. Regardless, Durant signed a lifetime deal with the band in April 2023, becoming only the third basketball in history to achieve that accomplishment.

Meanwhile, Durant recently debuted his 17th signature sneaker earlier this year. He has worn the Nike KD 17 in multiple player-exclusive colorways throughout the Paris Olympics.

Team USA takes on Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday. Durant is just two wins away from his fourth gold medal and earning the title of "the baddest."

Stay locked into Kicks on SI for all your sneaker news from the NBA and the rest of the sports world.

Further Reading: Ranking Team USA's basketball sneakers from best to worst.

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Pat Benson

PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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