Long before his career is over, Kevin Durant’s legacy as a basketball player is well intact. He’s going to go down as one of the great players of all time and arguably the best small forward in NBA history. But playing basketball is the only thing that Durant has excelled at in his life. He’s also found ways to make money beyond the basketball court as a savvy investor with a keen eye for business. Rather than take endorsement, Durant makes money off the court with his firm Thirty Five Ventures. While he doesn’t get as much attention for his off-court achievements as some of his peers, let’s take a look at some of the wise investments that Durant has made over the years.
Robinhood
Online stock broker Robinhood has turned into one of Durant’s best investments. The company was founded in 2013 and Durant made his investment in 2017 when it was valued at $1.2 billion. But when Robinhood went public, it received a valuation of $32 billion, making Durant a small fortune in the process. Today, Robinhood has over 30 million uses and continues to make it easy for users to make stock and cryptocurrency trades on a mobile device.
Mercury
Durant must love finance because another one of his investments was an online bank called Mercury. The startup had immediate success when it launched in 2019, inspiring Durant to become an early investor. Mercury raised $20 million during its Series A round with Andre Iguodala and actor Will Smith also contributing to that amount. By the time Mercury completed its Series B round of financing, it had a valuation of $1.6 billion, which undoubtedly means that Durant’s initial investment will have made a significant profit.
Postmates
Today, Postmates is a well-known food delivery service in thousands of American cities that Uber purchased in 2020. However, Durant was one of the investors who knew it had potential long ago. The NBA star made an investment of around $1 million in 2016 when it was still only operating in a few dozen cities. Of course, it’s grown by leaps and bounds since then, and when Uber bought it, Postmates had a valuation of $2.6 million. If you do the math, Durant’s initial investment of $1 million would have been worth around $15 million after the sale.
Acorns
Durant found yet another investment service that he liked in the form of Acorns, which specializes in micro-investing. While Durant doesn’t do a lot of micro-investing himself, Acorns helps people who don’t make millions in the NBA do just that. Durant was attracted to the company because it helps younger people invest money and increase their financial freedom. His investment was critical to helping Acorns expand its operations, as the company is quickly closing in on 10 million users.
Philadelphia Union
Naturally, Durant has stayed in the sports world for some of his investments. Most notably, he purchased a 5% stack in the Philadelphia Union of MLS in 2020. Durant also has an option to add another 5% later, so he could end up owning 10% of a pro sports franchise. Initially, Durant tried to buy a stake in DC United, which is his hometown team. However, he ended up buying a stake in another East Coast franchise. It’s also worth noting that Durant is the first black investor to join the Union’s ownership group.
