National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver has revealed that the organisation is giving “serious consideration” to launching a professional league in India.
Speaking alongside Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé ahead of the North American basketball competition’s first ever pre-season games in India, Silver told members of the press that he hopes to have the league up and running in the next five years, adding that he would like to see an Indian player reach the NBA in the same timeframe.
Silver did not reveal any specifics about the league, although Ranadivé, who is from India, apparently told ESPN that it would be made up of 12 teams.
“One of the things we've been discussing recently – and I know this is something else my friend Vivek is pushing me on – is the ability to launch a league here in India,” Silver said.
“As I've said, we have wonderful partners in the Reliance Foundation, with Sony Ten, our broadcaster, and some of our other top-notch corporate relationships here. That is something in these days while we're here that we're taking meetings on and openly having discussions.”
Adding: “Vivek, one place where at least I said publicly where I'm ahead of you, that I announced earlier today, it's my hope that within five years we have an Indian player in the NBA. And I think for serious consideration of a league, I'd use that same timing. It's something we would hope to do within the next five years.”
However, Silver noted that the launch of a potential league in India would require proper infrastructure and more facilities suited to basketball. For the pre-season double-header over the weekend between the Kings and the Indiana Pacers at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, the NBA had to provide necessities such as a court and a scoreboard to ensure the venue was up to standard.
“This is a fantastic facility we're in today, but it required us bringing in a court, a scoreboard, seats, locker rooms. And it's relatively small by NBA standards,” said Silver.
“I have had some interesting discussions with developers over the last two days here. I think it's inevitable that there will be state-of-the-art arenas in major cities in India, in part because these are multi-use facilities and live entertainment is increasingly important here as well. Of course, a great arena can have concerts and other shows. But we do need to see those arenas over time in order to play more games.”
Silver’s comments come ahead of the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a 12-team competition due to begin play in March 2020.
The BAL is part of a collaboration between Fiba, the sport’s global governing body, and the NBA, marking the first time the organisation has been involved in the operation of a league outside of North America.
National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver has revealed that the organisation is giving “serious consideration” to launching a professional league in India.
Speaking alongside Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé ahead of the North American basketball competition’s first ever pre-season games in India, Silver told members of the press that he hopes to have the league up and running in the next five years, adding that he would like to see an Indian player reach the NBA in the same timeframe.
Silver did not reveal any specifics about the league, although Ranadivé, who is from India, apparently told ESPN that it would be made up of 12 teams.
“One of the things we've been discussing recently – and I know this is something else my friend Vivek is pushing me on – is the ability to launch a league here in India,” Silver said.
“As I've said, we have wonderful partners in the Reliance Foundation, with Sony Ten, our broadcaster, and some of our other top-notch corporate relationships here. That is something in these days while we're here that we're taking meetings on and openly having discussions.”
Adding: “Vivek, one place where at least I said publicly where I'm ahead of you, that I announced earlier today, it's my hope that within five years we have an Indian player in the NBA. And I think for serious consideration of a league, I'd use that same timing. It's something we would hope to do within the next five years.”
However, Silver noted that the launch of a potential league in India would require proper infrastructure and more facilities suited to basketball. For the pre-season double-header over the weekend between the Kings and the Indiana Pacers at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, the NBA had to provide necessities such as a court and a scoreboard to ensure the venue was up to standard.
“This is a fantastic facility we're in today, but it required us bringing in a court, a scoreboard, seats, locker rooms. And it's relatively small by NBA standards,” said Silver.
“I have had some interesting discussions with developers over the last two days here. I think it's inevitable that there will be state-of-the-art arenas in major cities in India, in part because these are multi-use facilities and live entertainment is increasingly important here as well. Of course, a great arena can have concerts and other shows. But we do need to see those arenas over time in order to play more games.”
Silver’s comments come ahead of the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a 12-team competition due to begin play in March 2020.
The BAL is part of a collaboration between Fiba, the sport’s global governing body, and the NBA, marking the first time the organisation has been involved in the operation of a league outside of North America.
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