Kevin Durant isn’t just upping his game by announcing a move to the NBA Championship Golden State Warriors, he’s upping the prices of his sneakers too.
Durant, formerly of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is back in the news after comments made during an interview with Nice Kicks, in which he explains why he raised the price of his namesake KD line of sneakers with Nike.
The KD1, Durant’s first sneaker for Nike, retailed for $88, but with the release of his latest styles, the KD9 and the KD8, prices have rocketed to $150 and $180 respectively.
“As humbly as I can say it, I’m not a $88 player,” he said. “I’m an elite player in the league. I wanted everything to be affordable, but I knew we had to sacrifice some stuff. I just wanted the fans of the brand and of the shoe to just stay patient with me. And stay patient with who I am as a player, and the level I was trying to go to.”
While it may still yet to be seen if Durant’s shoes can have the impact of Nike’s legacy Jordan brand, he certainly is shooting high.