Kevin Durant to become first NBA player to visit league's academy in India

NEW ORLEANS – Kevin Durant spoke to reporters for nearly 30 minutes on Thursday, and there wasn’t one question about this awkward weekend that he’ll spend with his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate, Russell Westbrook.

It’s official, then: his NBA All-Star weekend is off to a good start.

The Golden State Warriors star met with members of the Indian press in a Ritz-Carlton hotel conference room to announce that, in late July, he’ll become the first NBA player to visit the NBA Academy of India. His trip is part of the league’s ongoing effort to expand their reach to the basketball-loving country that has 1.25 billion people.

On Saturday, the NBA announced the names of the country’s 24 top young players who played their way into a special spot at the Academy. For three months, with tryouts in six regions and a process that ended with a three-day training camp among the country’s top 45 prospects, the cream of the Indian crop played its way to the top. And now, with Durant coming their way, there are many more lessons to be learned.

“I’m so excited about the grass roots program, and how I can help,” said Durant, who added that he is excited about seeing the Taj Mahal. “I’m looking forward to it.”

While there was no discussion about Westbrook and the awkward dynamic that exists between them this weekend, there were a few fascinating revelations from the session. Chief among them? His desire to visit with the former Commander in Chief. When asked by USA TODAY Sports which person he would most like to spend more time talking to, he went with former President Barack Obama.

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“I’ve spent some time with Obama, but I want to sit down and have an intimate conversation on how our world can be better, how I can impact our world, and (get) some of his – just advice,” the eight-time All-Star said. “With what he’s done as a world leader, as one of the most important figures in the history of our nation, so that would be pretty cool to sit down and talk to him about how I can help change the world at some point, through my actions and what I do. So Obama would probably be the biggest guy.”

Right about the time Durant may have thought he was the biggest guy, what with a massive country showing so much interest in his visit, he was humbled on his way out of the building. He exited the media session and stepped on an elevator that also included a mother, father, and their two young kids.

“Who do you play for?” the mother asked, much to the chagrin of the boys in her family.

Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @Sam_Amick