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NBA Star LeBron James Becomes Kia Ambassador, Drives K900 to Work

You’ll have to pardon us for a second here as we enjoy the feeling of being right... Good. Because right we were a month ago, when we were guessing Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James is working on some sort of venture with Kia. It turns out, the South Koreans just closed a multi-year deal with the big fellow.
LeBron James becomes Kia ambassador 1 photo
Photo: Kia
He might be one of the most marketable athletes in the world, but that doesn’t mean he can’t opt for whoever he desires. Is it BMW, Mercedes or Rover? Nope, it’s Kia. Not only the 6 ft 8 in (2.03m) NBA star endorsed with the proposal but he even claims to be a big fan of the brand.

"They're also the title sponsor of the NBA and they did a lot of great promoting as far as the game," James said before Cleveland played the Indiana Pacers in Cincinnati on Wednesday. "And me being one of the top guys in our league, to try to promote the game, I thought it was fitting,” LeBron told ESPN NBA.

It was a test drive

As a renowned car enthusiast, James reached out to Kia to gain some firsthand experience with the brand’s flagship sedan. In fact he had his fare share of experience with the K900 considering almost two months passed ever since he first posted a couple of images of the inside of the car, quoting: “rolling around in my K900. Love this car!”.

According to Kia, LeBron was a fan of the brand even before he took the new car for a ride. The Cleveland Cavaliers star also explained what he and Kia as a brand have in common: “Kia and the K900 are out to challenge conventional wisdom and show people how to think differently, and I can relate to that. For me, a partnership has to be authentic and real to who I am, and that’s what makes this one so special.”

As a big sponsor of several sports, Kia has partnered up with other stars such as NBA All-Star Blake Grifin, tennis superstar Rafael Nadal and U.S. Women’s Open golf champion Michelle Wie. In fact, figures show the South Koreans have grown exponentially in their 20 years on the U.S. market, as they claim they are on their pace to have their third year in a row of selling more than 500,000 cars in the country.
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