Kevin Durant is back in New York City and pulled up to Queens in support of Rick Pitino. The Suns play the Knicks on Sunday night, so the 13-time NBA All-Star swung by Carnesecca Arena to get a glimpse of the new era of St. John’s basketball on Saturday.
Durant is represented by his business manager, Rich Kleiman, who was also in attendance for the game against Holy Cross. They founded a media company called ‘Boardroom‘ together back in 2018 and launched ‘Boardroom Advisory’ back in September, which aims to connect athletes to various business and media opportunities in the Name, Image and Likeness space.
The firm does not compete with agencies. It works in tandem with athletes’ preexisting representatives and will operate on a yearly fee structure.
We’re launching this new vertical as part of Boardroom because it speaks to the ethos of the brand: That through our network, knowledge, and content flywheel, we can create more access and more opportunity.
— Kevin Durant in Sept. 2023
Boardroom actually partnered with St. John’s department of athletics last March— even before the advisory arm. The Red Storm became Durant and Kleiman’s first-ever collegiate partnership.
As the newest partner of St. John’s UNLIMITED program—an all-encompassing educational, networking and leadership platform—Boardroom will serve as an exclusive editorial partner around select NIL announcements, help amplify storytelling and content development, and provide unique access and experiences with Boardroom executives.
— St. John’s Athletics in a press release
Kleiman is a life-long fan of St. John’s so it made sense that Boardroom focused on the Red Storm first. And now, nine or so months later, the partnership led to Durant’s attendance on Saturday.
As, of course, did the star power of Rick Pitino! The 71-year-old head coach was thrilled to have an NBA superstar in the house.
I also think it’s a great honor for St. John’s. Kevin’s got a lot to do, has a lot of people he knows in New York. Him and his agent, Rich Kleiman, who’s a great friend of our program, we just thank them.
We’re very honored to have both of them here.
KD has a lot to do, but to come here and then get back with his team, it’s a great honor for all of us. He’s one of the great players in the history of the game, I’ve said this all along. He’s a top-five player in the history of the game, one of the great offensive 6-foot-10 guys of all time.
I don’t know if there is a better 6-foot-10 basketball player in the game, that’s how good he is. I’ve always felt that way, I’ve always said it for years, so we’re very honored.
— Rick Pitino
The players were also thrilled to see their newest supporter sit courtside during a 46-point win!
KD has been my favorite player since I really started watching basketball for real. It’s an honor to have him come to our games because we sit down and watch him play all the time […] It’s a memory that’s going to stick around forever for us to talk about.
— Freshman Simeon Wilcher
R.J. Luis Jr. scored 14 of the Red Storm’s 91 points. Even though he knew Durant was there, he tried to keep it cool and focus on the task at hand.
It was pretty cool to see him on the sideline. I tried not to pay too much attention, but it’s an inspiration [for us players] trying to get to the next level. It was good that he came and supported us.
— R.J. Luis Jr.
Whether Kleiman dragged Kevin Durant to the game or not, it doesn’t matter. Pitino has ushered in a new era for St. John’s and there is a palpable buzz around the program. Having a two-time NBA champion on the sideline for a non-conference game against a bad mid-major team is pretty cool!