SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Kevin Durant will be taking his talents to Delhi this offseason. Elected to his eighth consecutive NBA All-Star Game, the 28-year-old Durant made his announcement Thursday as part of the weekend’s festivities. He is scheduled to visit the subcontinent in July.

He will be the first player to visit NBA Academy India, an elite training facility slated to open in May in the National Capital Region. “I’m super excited about helping grow the game of basketball to a new level,” said Durant. “I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to help. … Seeing the Taj Mahal is something that has been on my bucket list for a while.”

A number of notable NBA players have made the journey to India in the past, including Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett. Last year, Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry and Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez conducted youth clinics in Noida and Mumbai. A visit by Durant, however, raises the stakes for basketball in India. He is a star among stars — someone who looms as large as cricket luminary Virat Kohli on the spectrum of global sports icons.

Durant cited the impact Kobe Bryant has had on China, the retired star who spent his entire career with the Lakers makes annual trips to the country. The Warriors would like to have similar influence in India.

“I think what people really appreciated about Kobe was that he really wanted to learn about different aspects of life and how people approach different things,” Durant said. “I feel the same way. I want to feel the culture when I go to India. I want to see what it’s about. I want to get to touch the people and check the pulse — not only the game, but life in general.”

And the NBA’s presence in India is growing steadily — up to 14 games are televised across the nation each week, and the league reached 75 million unique Indian users last month on social media. This week, 24 prospects from across the nation were selected to participate in the inaugural class of NBA Academy India.

Durant said he would offer the same advice to young athletes in India as he would to those in the United States — that they don’t have to be the biggest, fastest or strongest player in order to succeed on the court at the highest levels.

“Keep dreaming,” Durant said. “It can happen if you believe it can happen and you work at it. It might sound cliché, but it really is that simple.”