In a crowded media landscape, sports are a clear way to attract viewers to a platform. Just last month, Facebook said its eventual budget for sports could be "a few billion dollars," while Amazon recently snagged the rights for NFL Thursday live streaming. As these deals are snapped up (and increase in price), agreements with individual star athletes, like Durant, can fill in the gaps.

Facebook has previously signed deals with individual stars, including the Balls, a popular family of basketball stars (no pun intended). That series has amassed quite the viewership for Facebook, in part thanks to patriarch LaVar Ball's antics, and it's likely YouTube is looking for similar results with the sports stars that it signs.