The NBA will play games in India for the first time ever during the 2019 preseason, the league announced today in a press release.
The Kings and Pacers will participate in the two contests, which are scheduled for October 4 and 5 in Mumbai. The games will also be the first ones staged in the country by any North American sports league.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is the NBA’s first Indian-born majority owner and has been pushing for the league to play games in his home country. As such, it comes as no surprise that his club will be involved.
“The Sacramento Kings are proud to be playing in the first NBA games ever held in India. As an Indian-American, it is an honor to help bring this historic moment to the country where I was raised,” Ranadive said in a statement. “The sport is experiencing tremendous growth in India and we are excited about continuing to expand the NBA’s reach to fans across the globe. The world wants to watch basketball and India is a fast-growing new frontier.”
As Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes, the NBA opened an office in Mumbai in 2011 and launched the NBA Academy India – for elite youth prospects – in 2017, so growing the game in the country has long been a priority for the league.
The games in Mumbai will be the latest part of the NBA’s ever-growing Global Games initiative. The league has played multiple regular season contests in Mexico City and London in recent seasons, and has staged several preseason contests in China over the last few years.
A decision made from a purely financial stand. The NBA is an American league. As empire-hungry and arrogant as the phrase ‘World Championship’ is when discussing American league titles.
The African aspect to the league’s overseas efforts is obvious, given that most NBA players are of African descent, but this one? More League Pass subscriptions.
There’s already an annual NBA Africa event.
Dumb
How is this dumb? Bringing a game we all love to a larger audience can’t be viewed as a negative