Kevin Durant knows star power when he sees it.
The two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history – demonstrated once again by his virtuoso performance against Serbia for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics.
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But at 35 years old, KD is no spring chicken.
The next generation of sporting superstars are already here, including Durant’s ping pong loving, Michael Jordan-esque Team USA teammate Anthony Edwards.
‘Ant-Man’ was one of eight athletes recently named to Boardroom’s Enterprising Eight.
Boardroom is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Durant and Rich Kleiman that focuses on the intersection of sports and entertainment.
Their Enterprising Eight is a list of the most marketable athletes 25 and under and features some of the most transcendent rising stars in the world today.
The list includes Grand Slam tennis champions Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff, WNBA rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, NBA stars Edwards and Victor Wembanyama, NFL quarterback C.J. Stroud and soccer icon Kylian Mbappe.
Reese and Clark, both 22 years old, have taken the WNBA by storm since being drafted by the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, respectively.
Their intense rivalry — compared to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s — started on the college basketball scene, played out during the NCAA Tournament and has continued throughout their brief time in the pros.
In a matter of months, the talented rookies have had an unparalleled impact on women’s basketball, leading to record WNBA attendances and TV viewing figures.
The WNBA’s popularity has grown exponentially with Reese and Clark in the league, with a similar effect taking place on the pair’s social media following.
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They’ve secured millions of new fans and millions of dollars, thanks to endorsement deals with Nike, State Farm, Gatorade, Bose, Amazon, Reebok, and more.
Four of the Enterprising Eight are basketball stars, with Edwards and Wembanyama flying the flag for The Association.
French phenom Wembanyama arrived to the NBA in 2023 with a level of hype not seen since LeBron James in 2003.
The 20-year-old, listed at a gargantuan 7ft 4ins, has been called an ‘alien’ because of his unique blend of skill, athleticism, height, defensive prowess, shooting touch and handling.
Wemby — who is currently playing for France in his home Olympics — broke all kinds of record en route to a Rookie of the Year campaign last season and has already featured in Louis Vuitton and Nike commercials.
Edwards, meanwhile, is seemingly the heir apparent to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Ant-Man is a supremely skilled hooper and trash talker who has almost single-handedly revitalized the once lowly Minnesota Timberwolves.
Edwards’ unwavering self-confidence has turned him into one of the new, bright faces of the NBA, which in turn has attracted serious commercial interest from the likes of Adidas and Foot Locker.
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Much like Edwards, Alcaraz and Gauff are the new faces of their respective sports.
In the post Federer-Williams years, Alcaraz and Gauff have shown they have more than enough star power and quality to take tennis into an exciting new future.
At 21 years old, Alcaraz is already a four-time Grand Slam singles champion and has been world no.1.
The reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion has dethroned Novak Djokovic as the world’s most dominant male player, all the while pocketing a cool $450 million in career earnings and much, much more with powerhouse brands like Nike, LVMH, Rolex, and BMW.
American Gauff, on the other hand, cemented herself as the highest paid female athlete in world last year after capturing the 2023 US Open on home soil.
The current world no.2 is only 20 but was recently bestowed the honor of being Team USA’s flagbearer — alongside LeBron no less — during the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
The New Balance, Rolex, American Eagle, Bose, and Head athlete has long idolized tennis GOAT Serena Williams, and is clearly the United States’ next, great female tennis icon.
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Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is the lone NFL figure on Boardroom’s list.
The former Ohio State Buckeye was the no.2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft but few could have predicted the kind of rookie season he’d go on to have.
Stroud excelled in the most scrutinized position in American sports, leading a success-starved Houston franchise into the playoffs while earning NFL Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors.
Reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is unquestionably the best quarterback in pro football. But at 22 years old, Stroud has plenty of time to come for ‘Showtime’s’ crown, starting from next season, where he is already the fourth-favorite to win NFL MVP honors.
Rounding out Boardroom’s list is Real Madrid’s shiny new galactico, Kylian Mbappe.
The 25-year-old Frenchman might be the oldest of the eight athletes, but he’s also the most accomplished, having already won the biggest prize on earth — the 2018 World Cup — at the tender age of 19.
Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time leading scorer has a net worth of around $180m (£141m) and has already been the face of Nike, Oakley, FIFA and more.
His recent switch to the Spanish capital ushers in a new era for what’s already a legendary career, and will no doubt cement his status as one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.
