LeBron James to sell Donuts in India

Even though he may not have yet won an NBA championship, LeBron James, at 27, is already a pretty well-accomplished person, isn’t he? He has won two MVP awards, been to the NBA Finals two times, been a scoring champion, a rookie of the year, and an eight-time All Star. In the process, he has also sold a lot of shoes, hamburgers, soft-drinks, and jerseys.

LeBron is also known for making a controversial decision when he ‘took his talents to South Beach’ to play with the Miami Heat in the Summer of 2010. Now, the NBA’s self-proclaimed ‘King’ has been roped in for another quasi-important decision: taking his talents to Asia to sell donuts and ice-cream.

No, really.

Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company which owns ‘Dunkin Donuts’ and ‘Baskin-Robbins’ have signed on the Miami Heat forward to a multiyear deal as a brand ambassador to support the company’s growth in India, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. According to Moneylife.in, under the terms of the agreement, ‘James will work to promote both Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins in India through advertisements, online media and in-store marketing, as well as personal appearances at select brand locations.’

Baskin-Robbins already has several stores in India, but the first Dunkin Donuts store should open in the country sometime this year. In 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts signed an agreement with Jubilant FoodWorks LTD to open 500 restaurants in India.

Here’s more from Moneylife:

The partnership is another step, for both James and Dunkin’ Brands, in their continued focus on connecting with consumers and fans in India.[Dunkin' Brands Chief Global Marketing and Innovation Officer John Costello]: “We are delighted to have LeBron, a world-class athlete, representing Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins in India and believe our customers here will be thrilled about this announcement.”“I am really excited about partnering with Dunkin’ Brands and connecting with the huge community of basketball fans in India on their behalf,” said James.

Although the report above states that LeBron will be making in-person appearances in select brand locations in India, there doesn’t yet seem to be any official confirmation of when and where that will be. LeBron, who has visited China and Taiwan several times in the past, is slated to make personal appearances to Asia this off-season, but whether or not that visit will include India hasn’t yet been announced.

If he does make the visit though, LeBron James would be by far the most talented basketball player to ever step foot on Indian soil, but it is unfortunate that it will probably be an unofficial visit instead of a NBA-related trip such as that Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol made, where they were actually promoting basketball instead of donuts.

Either way, mark your calendars and dig out your old, unburnt Cavalier jerseys, for the two-time MVP could be landing in the subcontinent this summer. If you’re a LeBron fan, you probably want this trip to take place later rather than earlier, because he’s hardly going to have time promoting Dunkin Brands if he’s playing competitive ball all the way into June at the NBA Finals and then again for the USA national team in the London Olympics.

Totally looking forward to LeBron dominating three-fourths of that donut and then passing the last bit to Udonis Haslem.