NEW DELHI, India — NBA Champion and Finals MVP Kevin Durant of the Golden State
Warriors and 3,459 Indian children from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program
set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS achievement for the world’s largest basketball
lesson (multiple venues) ever held.
During his first-ever trip to India, Durant conducted the record-breaking feat
at The NBA Academy India, the league’s elite basketball training center in the
Delhi National Capital Region for the top male and female prospects from
throughout India which opened in May.
A group of youth were onsite at The NBA Academy India, while the other boys and
girls participated via satellite from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
“Sharing my love of basketball with thousands of boys and girls across India was
an unbelievable experience,” said Durant. “It was an honor to coach these
amazing kids and to be a part of this special day.”
Durant is in India to support the continued growth of basketball in the country.
While in Delhi, he coached the country’s top prospects at The NBA Academy India
and built two new basketball courts to the Ramjas School as part of the Kevin
Durant Charity Foundation’s BUILD IT AND THEY WILL BALL Courts Renovation
Initiative.
“Sports has the ability to unite people, and this record-setting NBA clinic led
by Finals MVP Kevin Durant helped us connect young basketball players throughout
the country in a single event,” said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco.
“We are growing the game of basketball in India, and having Kevin here, one of
the world’s greatest players, will no doubt inspire countless young boys and
girls to stay healthy and active and believe that they can do anything.”
The NBA Academy India builds on the NBA’s existing basketball and youth
development initiatives in India. The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has
reached more than 6 million youth and trained more than 5,000 physical education
instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013.
