NBA star Kevin Durant was recently in India to promote basketball. As expected, his arrival had caused a huge stir in the country but it looks like the Golden State Warriors star did not have the best of experiences in India. The MVP of the 2017 NBA Finals admitted that he had a unique experience after visiting India for the very first time but the Indian fans will surely not love to hear what Durant said. From admitting that he had no idea about the country prior to his visit to stating that culture was rough, Durant said that the country is 20 years behind in terms of knowledge.
“Um, it was a unique experience. I went with no expectation, no view on what it’s supposed to be like. I usually go to places where I at least have a view in my head. India, I’m thinking I’m going to be around palaces and royalty and gold — basically thought I was going to Dubai. Then when I landed there, I saw the culture and how they live and it was rough,” Durant told The Athletic in an interview.
The Golden State Warriors star further that India is a country that is 20 years behind in terms of knowledge. Explaining the pathetic conditions of the road, Durant went on to say that a bunch of underprivileged people who want to learn how to play basketball.
“It’s a country that’s 20 years behind in terms of knowledge and experience. You see cows in the street, monkeys running around everywhere, hundreds of people on the side of the road, a million cars and no traffic violations. Just a bunch of underprivileged people there and they want to learn how to play basketball. That — was really, really dope to me,” he said.
Durant also made some memorable moments in India. He held the largest training session of basketball where 3,459 children trained at the same time to make it a Guniness World Record. His foundation also donated two basketball in New Delhi and he later went to see the iconic Taj Mahal.
“Yeah. As I was driving up to the Taj Mahal, like I said, I thought that this would be holy ground, super protected, very very clean. And as I’m driving up, it’s like, s—, this used to remind me of some neighbourhoods I would ride through as a kid. Mud in the middle of the street, houses were not finished but there were people living in them. No doors. No windows. The cows in the street, stray dogs and then, boom, Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. It’s like holy s—, this was built 500 years ago and everyone comes here. It’s just an eye-opener,” he said.