Kevin Durant - From Scorer to Stakeholder

Kevin Durant will be remembered for the jumper.

But he may ultimately be valued for the portfolio.

Durant is one of the rare modern athletes who understood early that fame is a distribution channel. Contracts are liquidity events. Championships are amplification. But equity is permanence.

Long before the phrase “athlete investor” became trendy, Durant was building the scaffolding.

Not noise.

Structure.

Thirty Five Ventures: The Platform

Durant co-founded Thirty Five Ventures with longtime business partner Rich Kleiman. The name references his jersey number, but the operation goes far beyond branding.

Thirty Five Ventures operates across three primary lanes:

• Venture investing
• Media and content production
• Strategic brand partnerships

This is important. It is not a fund in isolation. It is an ecosystem.

Durant did not want to simply write checks into startups. He wanted ownership exposure, storytelling control, and cultural leverage in one place.

Thirty Five Ventures has invested in more than 75 companies across sectors including:

• Fintech
• Sports tech
• Consumer brands
• Crypto
• Media platforms

Early reported investments have included companies like Postmates, Acorns, Coinbase, Overtime, and others. While private portfolio details fluctuate and valuations are rarely public in full, the pattern is clear: Durant allocates across growth-stage consumer and tech infrastructure.

He is not chasing one big bet.

He is building exposure.

Boardroom: Owning the Conversation

If Thirty Five Ventures is the investment arm, Boardroom is the megaphone.

Boardroom began as a newsletter focused on the intersection of sports and business. It evolved into a full media property covering:

• Athlete contracts
• Venture funding
• League economics
• Ownership dynamics

This move was strategic.

For decades, athletes were subjects of sports media. Durant became an owner of business media.

Boardroom positions itself where ESPN meets Bloomberg. That alignment mirrors your own Tall Cotton thesis. It reframes athletes not as performers, but as capital participants.

The genius of Boardroom is that it strengthens Thirty Five Ventures.

Information → Access

Access → Deals

Deals → Content

Content → Influence

It is circular.

Durant built the wheel.

Production: Storytelling as Equity

Through Thirty Five Ventures, Durant has executive produced multiple projects across streaming platforms.

Notably, the company produced:

• The ESPN+ series The Boardroom
• The Showtime docuseries Basketball County
• Projects exploring athlete activism, business, and culture

This is not vanity production.

Media ownership matters because:

• It controls narrative
• It opens Hollywood capital channels
• It strengthens brand leverage
• It attracts corporate partnerships

Durant is not just investing in companies. He is investing in narrative power.

Venture Capital Discipline

Durant has reportedly invested in more than 75 startups through Thirty Five Ventures and affiliated vehicles.

While precise net worth numbers fluctuate, public estimates commonly place Durant north of $300 million. As always, these figures are unverified and influenced by private equity holdings, endorsement contracts, taxes, and market conditions.

But the key is not the number.

It is the structure.

Durant’s venture thesis tends to follow three patterns:

1. Consumer-facing growth platforms
2. Athlete-adjacent technologies
3. Financial empowerment tools

He has spoken publicly about wanting to build wealth beyond the court, and unlike many players, he operationalized it early in his career.

Equity Over Endorsement

Durant’s Nike relationship is one of the most successful signature sneaker partnerships in basketball. But what separates him is not the size of the endorsement.

It is the evolution of his thinking.

The modern athlete understands that:

• Cash is safe.
• Equity is transformative.

Durant has consistently sought ownership stakes and equity participation in brand relationships rather than flat sponsorship checks.

That mindset compounds.

Women’s Sports and Expansion Capital

Durant has also placed capital into women’s sports ventures, signaling awareness of emerging league growth opportunities.

This matters because:

• Women’s sports valuations are rising
• Media rights deals are expanding
• Early investors capture outsized upside

Durant’s approach mirrors broader venture discipline: enter markets before consensus.

The Rich Kleiman Factor

Durant’s partnership with Rich Kleiman is foundational.

Kleiman is not a hired manager. He is a co-builder.

This is important for two reasons:

1. Continuity - building institutional memory
2. Division of labor - athlete focus + operator focus

Every enduring enterprise has partnership architecture.

Durant did not build alone.

The Criticism and the Discipline

Durant’s career has been polarizing on the court. But off the court, the discipline is steady.

He does not oversell.

He does not posture as a billionaire futurist.

He invests.

He produces.

He builds.

There is patience in that.

Net Worth and Scale

Public net worth estimates commonly place Durant in the $300 million range, though these figures are not verified and depend heavily on private investments and market conditions.

More important than the net worth number is exposure.

Durant’s capital sits across:

• Salary
• Endorsements
• Private equity stakes
• Media assets
• Brand equity

Diversification reduces fragility.

That is the blueprint.

Why Durant Fits The Tall Cotton

Kevin Durant is not trying to be louder.

He is trying to be larger.

He is building:

• Media infrastructure
• Venture exposure
• Production capability
• Cultural leverage

He is not waiting for ownership.

He is constructing it in pieces.

Contracts create income.

Media creates influence.

Equity creates permanence.

Durant has all three in motion.

The Coda

At The Tall Cotton, we document those who convert spotlight into structure.

Kevin Durant did not stop at All-NBA selections.

He built Thirty Five Ventures.

He launched Boardroom.

He invested early.

He diversified intentionally.

When the jumper fades, the equity remains.

Culture.

Capital.

Control.

Kevin Durant is not just scoring.

He is allocating.