Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Kevin Durant spotted wearing Rolex

Kevin Durant appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine — shot during his tenure with the Golden State Warriors — wearing a stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in the reference 116500LN configuration with a black ceramic bezel. It is a quietly authoritative choice: no diamonds, no custom colour, just arguably the most sought-after production sports watch on the planet worn straight out of the box.

Rolex introduced the Ref. 116500LN at Baselworld 2016 as the first Daytona to wear a Cerachrom ceramic bezel, a material the brand had already deployed on its sports divers and GMT models. The new bezel replaced the aluminium insert that had defined the Daytona since the 1980s, offering superior scratch resistance and near-zero UV fading. Under the caseback sits the Calibre 4130, Rolex's manufacture movement built around a column-wheel and horizontal clutch — a chronograph architecture long favoured by independent makers for its smooth engagement and precision. Power reserve runs to 72 hours, and the movement is COSC-certified to -4/+6 seconds per day, though Rolex's own tolerances are tighter.

The 116500LN carries collector weight that its retail price does not fully communicate. From the moment it launched, authorised dealers faced years-long waiting lists, and the reference became a benchmark grey-market premium indicator — at times trading at three to four times its list price. The black-dial variant Durant is wearing is typically considered the more understated of the two dial options, the white-dial version attracting equal if not greater premiums on the secondary market.

Durant has demonstrated consistent taste for serious horology throughout his career, gravitating toward references with genuine mechanical credibility rather than purely ornamental pieces. Choosing the Daytona 116500LN — a watch that resonates with both watch collectors and a broader luxury audience — reflects an awareness of the hierarchy within the Rolex catalogue.

At UK list price the 116500LN was positioned around £8,250 at the time of the sighting, but grey-market realities tell a different story. Secondary market values for clean examples in full set have consistently settled between $25,000 and $35,000 USD depending on dial configuration and market conditions, making Durant's wrist choice considerably more valuable in practice than its official retail figure suggests.