Kevin Durant is set to receive an estimated $60 million after Nvidia Corporation’s $12.9 billion acquisition of AI platform Hugging Face, a move that reportedly delivers a 23,900% return on his venture investment. Sports writer Joe Pompliano shared the estimate on social media and called Durant’s backing of Hugging Face one of the best athlete investments ever.
Kevin Durant’s early bet on Hugging Face
Durant invested early in Hugging Face, putting $100,000 into its seed round and another $150,000 into its Series A. He publicly signaled his support as far back as 2017, tweeting that he was a ‘proud investor’ in the platform.
Investment compared with Durant’s NBA pay
The reported payout would exceed any single-season salary Durant has earned in his 18-season NBA career. Durant is set to make $43.9 million for the 2026–2027 season as part of a two-year $90 million deal with the Houston Rockets; his closest single-season figure was $53.3 million last season, according to Spotrac. Durant’s career NBA earnings total $501.1 million.
Durant’s broader investment portfolio
Through his 35 Venture Fund and other investment vehicles with business partner Rich Kleiman, Durant has built a diversified portfolio. That includes past investments in companies that went public, such as Robinhood and Coinbase, and stakes in Acorns, Dapper Labs, Kalshi, Spindrift, Whoop, the Philadelphia Union MLS team and Paris Saint-Germain.
Photo: Ron Adar from Shutterstock
