On Friday, the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation (KDCF) unveiled their first basketball court in Tokyo, Japan. Now, KDCF has funded and constructed 28 basketball courts across the globe. In July, the foundation opened its 26th basketball court in the Bronx.
Other courts this year were completed in Harlem and Brooklyn. KDCF has also built basketball courts in California, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington.
Internationally, Japan is not alone. Courts were built in Taiwan, Germany, China and India. The Nets forward has a good heart. Fans in Tokyo are celebrating.
Kevin Durant Charity Foundation & 2K Foundations have unveiled their first 🏀 court in Tokyo.
KDCF has now funded 28 court projects globally as part of its ‘BUILD IT AND THEY WILL BALL’ initiative.
“I hope this court is a haven for Japan’s next generation of hoopers.” —@KDTrey5 pic.twitter.com/L2lhYGRWAe
— Boardroom (@boardroom) August 5, 2022
The foundation is also known as Thirty Five Ventures. The two-time NBA Finals MVP and businessman Rich Kleiman founded Thirty Five Ventures in 2017.
In 2020, KDCF produced Basketball County, a documentary about youth basketball in Durant’s home county of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Kevin Durant Charity Foundation: Thirty Five Ventures
Based on the Thirty Five Ventures website, the purpose of KDCF is to “enrich the lives of at-risk youth from low-income backgrounds through educational, athletic and social programs.” The foundation has addressed several problems children are dealing with today, including homelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.
In January 2019, College Track was launched at The Durant Center. The center serves as a community hub for Prince George’s County. Since then, Team Durant athletes have received over $35 million in athletic scholarship offers from universities nationwide.
Tokyo court #27…@richkleiman pic.twitter.com/aNcy88vgen
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 5, 2022
The first two basketball courts from Thirty Five Ventures were built in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2015. Durant played his first eight seasons of his NBA career with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged a career-high 32 points per game with the Thunder in the 2013-14 season.
Additionally, a basketball court was constructed in Berlin, Germany. In 2016, the foundation built a court in Guangzhou, China and Austin, Texas. Likewise, Seattle, Washington received a new court the same year. Now, Tokyo has a new court.
Moreover, in 2013, Durant donated $1 million to Red Cross for disaster relief. So, the forward has been a humanitarian since long before establishing the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.
The two-time NBA champion loves his charity
When asked about Thirty Five Ventures, Durant told reporters: “When I was young, playing basketball was one of the things that kept me out of trouble and kept me focused on my growth and maturity into the man I would eventually become.”
“For that reason, I’ve always wanted to play a leadership role in communities and neighborhoods — like the one I grew up in — and give kids a chance to choose health, teamwork and basketball over some of the other negative influences they may face.”
KDCF teamed up with other humanitarian organizations as an emergency response to different natural disasters. In 2021, they worked together with the World Central Kitchen and MedShare International after the earthquake in Haiti.
Equally important, the foundation worked together with Coalition for the Homeless and Austin Street Center during the 2021 Texas power crisis. Meanwhile, KDCF helped New Yorkers recover from a residential building fire in the Bronx.
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