The Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant and 3,459 children from the Reliance Foundation Junior NBA program in India entered the Guinness Book of World Records on Friday after holding the world's largest basketball lesson in multiple venues.
Durant, the MVP of the 2017 NBA Finals, conducted the record-breaking feat at the NBA Academy India, the new basketball training center in the Delhi National Capital Region for the top male and female prospects from throughout the country.
A group of youth were on site at the academy situated in Greater Noida area, the other boys and girls participated via satellite link from the cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Considering the previous Guinness record involved around 600 children, the existing record had been broken easily, sports broadcaster ESPN said.
"Sharing my love of basketball with thousands of boys and girls across India was an unbelievable experience," said Durant from the Golden State Warriors, the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 NBA Finals.
"It was an honor to coach these amazing kids and to be part of this special day," he said.
Durant, making his first trip to India, is supporting the growth of basketball in the country. While in Delhi, he has coached top prospects at the NBA Academy India and built two new courts at a school as part of his foundation's "Build It And They Will Ball" Courts Renovation Initiative.
"Sports (have) the ability to unite people, and this record-setting NBA clinic led by Finals MVP Kevin Durant helped us connect young basketball players throughout the country in a single event," said NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco.
The NBA Academy India, which opened in May, builds on the league's existing initiatives in India. The Reliance Foundation Junior NBA program has reached more than 6 million children and trained more than 5,000 physical education instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013.
