Panini America signs Kevin Durant as spokesman

By Chris Olds | Editor

Panini America took a third step toward building a strong starting five of spokesmen on Thursday, adding Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant to its roster.

The former Texas Longhorn joins Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and No. 1 draft pick John Wall of the Washington Wizards as a spokesman and trading card ambassador.

He’ll be an exclusive to Panini and will apepar on the packaging for Absolute Memorabilia when it arrives in March — and based on the row of signed shoes in the background of the image seen here, he’ll be a likely candidate for signed memorabilia pieces as part of Panini America’s forthcoming autographed memorabilia line.

“I’m very excited to be a part of the Panini family and join great players like Kobe Bryant and John Wall for this partnership,” Durant said. “The idea of being on a trading card with Kobe is an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to see it happen.”

Panini CEO Mark Warsop said he was excited by the signing.

“Kevin is one of those dynamic players that is fun to watch and is a player that excites collectors,” he said. “We are pleased that Kevin has now joined the Panini family, he will be a pillar of Panini’s NBA business for years to come.”

Panini is the exclusive NBA card licensee and also holds an exclusive marketing and advertising deal with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Here’s more … straight from Durant himself.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXmDtdKdAg8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.