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Kevin Durant may be sidelined with a calf injury as his Golden State Warriors face the Portland Trailblazers in the Western Conference Finals of the NBA playoffs, but he’s still making business moves.
Thirty Five Ventures, the company Durant owns with sports business executive Rich Kleiman, has announced that it’s become an equity partner in New York-based Master & Dynamic, an audio company known for well-crafted headphones featuring premium materials and excellent sound.
“In addition to having part ownership in Master & Dynamic, the full partnership will also see Durant and Thirty Five Ventures work with the company on creative, design and building out the intersection of sports and music,” according to Master & Dynamic.
Recently Master & Dynamic released its first noise-cancelling headphone, the MW65 ANC, and in June, the company says a special edition “Studio 35” version will hit stores in a color design that Durant selected. It’s unclear what those colors will be and whether they’ll offer any hints as to where Durant will play next year. He can opt-out of his contract at the end of the season and New York and Brooklyn are possible destinations — or so Knicks and Nets fans hope.
Read: CNET’s full review of the Master & Dynamic MW65 ANC
We reached out to Durant for comment through Master & Dynamic and Thirty Five Ventures, but didn’t hear back from him. We were wondering what specifically drew him to the headphone brand. He’d been previously seen wearing Beats, which last year became the official headphone of the NBA. Unlike Beats, which are known for their strong bass, Master & Dynamic headphones feature a more balanced audio profile that’s more geared toward audiophiles.
Master & Dynamic MW65 ANC
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As part of the press release announcing the deal, Durant did have this to say about the partnership:
“Master & Dynamic has been elevating the audio game since they launched in 2014 and I felt that they were a company I had to get involved with. Music is such a huge part of my life that their products have become an important part of my day to day, and I’m looking forward to some amazing collaboration between our teams.”
For some reason Master & Dynamic didn’t have a professionally shot photo of Durant wearing the company’s headphones available for the announcement (the above photo is from Instagram). But the company did recently feature his mother, Wanda Durant, in a Mother’s Day blog post that’s worth reading.
Enlarge ImageWanda Durant wearing the Master & Dynamic MW60.
Master & Dynamic
