NBA Commissioner looks to move pre-season game to Mumbai next year

The NBA looks to play a pre-season game in India next year according to the league’s Commissioner Adam Silver.

As part of an effort to promote the game in India, The NBA launched The NBA Academy back in 2017, an elite basketball training centre at Jaypee Greens Integrated Sports Complex in Greater Noida.

The Junior NBA World Championships concluded in Florida over the weekend, with 20 odd boys and girls from New Delhi and Bengaluru representing India.

Plans to continue growing the sport will see the NBA return to Mumbai next year with some of the league’s top stars.

“We have India being represented here and we have an academy on the ground now,” Silver said.

“We are potentially looking to play a game in Mumbai next year, but it would be a pre-season game.”

“If we do a pre-season game, our players and their families can spend time and learn about the country’s culture,” he said.

The Junior World Championships had 10,000 participants from over 70 countries go through the process just to attend the tournament.

The players were in camp for a week, participating in community projects along with learning life skills outside of the court.

I think this is just the beginning of what will turn out to be a great program,” Silver said.

“We see this as an opportunity at a global level to continue putting in infrastructure for young players who are chasing the dream of coming to the United States.”

According to the Commissioner, the Junior NBA World Championships is a future investment for the organisation.

“This is certainly not a business, I think for us it’s an investment in the game and in future league players.