Playing against KD

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As in Day 1, we didn’t know what to expect from Day 2 of Nike’s media tour in connection with the KD VI launch. We were told to show up 8 a.m. for the breakfast buffet at Hotel George where we were billeted in this US capital city then left our fate in the hands of our trip coordinators.

To get the show on the road, the 78 media reps invited for the launch rode two buses to the District Architecture Center in the historic Penn Quarter of downtown D. C. Nike vice president and global creative director for basketball Tracy Teague welcomed us. Teague introduced the visitors to the wide range of Nike products related to Kevin Durant’s latest signature shoe. If Day 1 focused on footwear, Day 2 centered on apparel. There was a display of an assortment of Durant merchandise on the ground floor of the building.

“We built on the energy of KD VI to create a full collection for both on and off the court use,” said Teague. “The key elements of this whole line are innovation and inspiration. Our shoe designer Leo Chang took care of the high performance aspect. But we also considered the Seat Pleasant aspect that shaped Kevin into a man not just a player. On the apparel side, we created a performance hoodie designed for playing with a dri-fit feature. The backpack is synonymous with KD so our line included it. Our tees, shorts and suits are closely coordinated with the KD image.”

Teague said the KD line doesn’t compete with the other Nike lines associated with stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. “Nike is blessed with a ton of great athletes and we’ve managed to separate themselves in reaching out to markets closest to their age so we relate to the consumers,” he said. “We don’t view it as competition but complementation.”

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From the District Architecture Center, we were brought to the Lincoln Memorial where we had a 30-minute stop to take photographs and for some of us, to visit the War Memorial nearby. Then it was off to the three-storey Nike superstore at Georgetown. We were given a briefing on how the store is split according to sports, athletes and products. A life-size granite-colored statue of Durant greeted shoppers on the third floor. Nike’s innovative ID system was explained and we got a glimpse of a personalized KD VI pair being created for each of us. Believe it or not, I bumped into Alaska guard Cyrus Baguio at the store. He was on vacation with his wife and would meet up with the Aces party in Las Vegas to celebrate their PBA Commissioner’s Cup victory. Before boarding our bus for the next stop, we ate our packed lunch (choice of chicken, vegetarian, turkey or Italian wraps) right outside the Nike superstore.

We got off at the Georgetown campus and walked over to the basketball gym where coach emeritus John Thompson and his son John III, now the Hoyas head coach, waited to share their testimony on Durant. We never expected to meet the legendary Hall of Famer and his son.

Moving on, we went to the Sidwell Friends School on Wisconsin Avenue. We were told to head straight to the dressing room and look for our lockers. Our names were on a label stuck on a locker. Inside the lockers were a pair of KD VIs, a KD VI backpack, a pair of elite Nike basketball shorts and a short-sleeve Washington D. C. T-shirt. We put on the gear and reported for work in the gym where Nike’s Kevin Durant Skills Academy drillmasters Kyle Manary and Alan Stein were ready to crack the whip.

Stein, a strength and conditioning coach, said he would make us experience what Durant goes through in the gym. For about 45 minutes, we did a variety of drills, including stretching, sprinting, duck-walking, push-ups and dribbling. Naturally, we fumbled and lost control in the ballhandling drills which required dribbling between the legs and behind the back while zipping in and out of cones. We weren’t expected to perform with flying colors and we certainly didn’t. All Manary and Stein wanted was for us to appreciate the work that Durant does to stay on top of his game.

The shooting drills were a relief. We did left-handed and right-handed layups, shot pull-ups and elbow jumpers and worked a two-man game for a pass-and-shoot. Then came the highlight of Day 2. We were split into teams of five and matched against each other in full-court, five-minute pick-up styles. To our surprise, Durant walked onto the court and played in every game.

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I was called in for the second set and Durant was on the opposite team. I knew that in this situation, everyone wanted to score and since I played four, I hung around the basket to grab my teammates’ misses. When a teammate took a shot from the middle, I got into position for the offensive rebound on the weak side with Durant across the lane. I was wide open for a put-back and scored. It turned out to be the only two points our team scored as we lost, 9-2. On one play, I got a pass from our wing forward then threw it back to him at the baseline for an open jumper but he missed. On another play, I jumped for an offensive rebound and Durant just stood to pluck it from my hands. When I landed, I felt a soreness in my shoulder. The five minutes went by quickly and in the last possessions, I could hardly run. Durant kept firing from the perimeter and we all just watched in awe.

Mico Halili played in the fourth set and also went up against Durant. Playing point guard, Mico executed a nifty crossover to evade Durant who attempted to reach in for a steal. After the games, we sat around the court while former NBA coach John Lucas introduced the 19 chosen collegiate players participating in the KD Skills Academy. Lucas also introduced his assistant coaches two of whom had played in the PBA, Mike Morrison and Rick Brunson.

That night, we were treated to a farewell dinner at The Source by Wolfgang Puck adjacent to the Newseum. The KD experience was like a dream. It was difficult to imagine that in two days, I had actually interacted with Durant, Lucas, both Thompsons, Kara Lawson, Durant’s elementary and high school coach Taras Brown, his mother Wanda, his grandmother Barbara, Chang, Teague, Manary, Stein, Seat Pleasant Activity Center facility director Sherri Kittrell and the highly-efficient Nike staff that made this dream a reality. This had to be one of the most memorable experiences in my sports journalism career.