Nike Celebrates Kevin Durant’s First NBA Title With Ad Slamming His Critics
It didn’t take long for Nike to commemorate Kevin Durant‘s first NBA championship by crushing his detractors in an ad.
Immediately following the 129-120 Game 5 NBA Finals win on Monday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., which secured the league title for the Golden State Warriors, the brand debuted an ad for Durant. The short film, dubbed “Debate This,” showed the scrutiny he’s encountered throughout his career, illustrated by the chatter of basketball fans and analysts.
Those people by the ad’s end were all silenced once he became NBA champion.
The people in the video mimicked many of the criticisms Durant has faced since entering the NBA in 2007 as a member of the then Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder), including that he’s “too weak,” “soft” and “not a real leader.”
Nike challenged those disparaging Durant after his NBA title win was announced to “Debate This.”
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The clip was set to the instrumental of the late legendary Wu-Tang Clan member ODB’s hit, “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” which was included on the rapper’s 1995 album, “Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version.”
Durant scored 39 points in the Game 5 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a mostly blue with gold accents pair of his latest Nike signature shoe, the KD10. The baller was also named NBA Finals MVP.
