Fact Check: Did Kevin Durant sign 1-year deal with Al Hilal? Debunking viral rumors about Phoenix Suns star

A report about Kevin Durant taking his talents to Saudi Arabia and joining Al Hilal has gone viral. Following the news of Kylian Mbappe's insane offer to play in Saudi Arabia, several players reacted to it on Twitter. However, how true is Durant's one-year deal with Al Hilal in the Saudi Premier League?

According to Buttcrack Sports, Durant is the latest international athlete to sign a big contract in Saudi Arabia. An image of the Phoenix Suns star during his 2016 free agency announcement was used with the logo of Al Hilal on the front.

It's obvious that the report is not real, as it came from a satire and parody account. The Saudi Premier League, the country's top professional basketball league, is not on the level of the Saudi Professional League. Soccer is the most popular sport in the country and not basketball.

Kevin Durant also has a contract with the Phoenix Suns until the 2025-26 season. It's unlikely that the Saudi Premier League will do what their soccer counterpart is doing.

However, it's not impossible to think that they might try to lure aging NBA veteran stars to help promote basketball in the country. The Saudi Premier League has been in existence since 1976. Al Hilal owns a basketball team and were the 2022 SPL champions.

The NBA has slowly started to thread the waters in the Persian Gulf, holding a couple of preseason games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last season. The league will hold another couple of preseason games next season.

Apart from playing preseason games there, the NBA also changed their ownership rules in 2019 allowing investment funds such as those in the Arab region to acquire minority ownership in NBA teams.

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NBA players react to Al Hilal's insane offer to Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe has been linked to a one-year move to Al Hilal.

According to multiple reports, Al Hilal has offered a transfer fee of $332 million to Paris Saint Germain for the services of superstar forward Kylian Mbappe. The Saudi Professional League club is willing to offer Mbappe a lucrative one-year, $ $775 million contract.

The staggering amount did not just shock the soccer world but also the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo even volunteered to play in place of Mbappe because they kind of look alike.

LeBron James even joked about how he would feel if Rich Paul manage to get him a contract like that.

Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard is dumbfounded by the offer to Mbappe.

Draymond Green also joked about the ink on his new Golden State Warriors deal still being wet and wondered if he can play in Saudi Arabia.