- Kevin Durant temporarily lost access to his Coinbase account but later recovered it with the exchange’s help.
- He first bought Bitcoin in 2016 at around $600, a move that has grown massively in value today.
- Other NBA players like Tristan Thompson and Spencer Dinwiddie are also diving deeper into crypto projects.
Kevin Durant, one of the NBA’s biggest stars, has finally regained access to his Coinbase account after a small but messy login issue. Earlier this week, his longtime business partner Rich Kleiman revealed at CNBC’s Game Plan conference that Durant couldn’t find his account details, sparking a few laughs from the audience. Coinbase later confirmed in a statement that Durant’s account recovery went smoothly once their team stepped in. The mix-up wasn’t some security breach, just a plain case of forgotten login info—a very human error
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A Decade-Long Crypto Journey
Durant’s history with Bitcoin stretches back nearly ten years. He bought his first coins in late 2016, when Bitcoin hovered around $600, right after a dinner hosted by venture capitalist Ben Horowitz. At the time, Durant had just joined the Golden State Warriors, a move that set the stage for his championship run. According to Kleiman, by the end of that night, the word “Bitcoin” had been thrown around so many times that they both decided to dive in. Fast forward to today, Bitcoin has surged past $117,000, making that early play look more like foresight than luck.
Partnership with Coinbase
Since 2021, Durant has had an official deal to promote Coinbase, further cementing his role as one of the most visible athletes in the crypto space. Through their investment firm 35V, both he and Kleiman have been investors in Coinbase since 2017. Kleiman admitted during his stage talk that while the account issue made for a funny anecdote, it also showed just how much their relationship with Coinbase has matured over nearly a decade. What started as a bet on Bitcoin has evolved into a lasting business partnership.
Athletes in the Crypto Spotlight
Durant isn’t alone in this world. Other NBA players have also stepped into the crypto scene, experimenting with new ways to blend sports and blockchain. Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson has launched a Web3 project to deepen fan engagement, while Charlotte’s Spencer Dinwiddie once tried to tokenize his NBA salary before the league shut it down. This growing wave of athletes embracing crypto shows how the industry has shifted from a fringe experiment to something mainstream stars actively build into their careers.
