Basketball became a truly international game after the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and while the love for the game has spread throughout Europe and some Asian countries, there is one Asian country and culture the NBA is trying to establish itself in: India.
The league has been trying to present the game of professional basketball to the Indian people (they are more fixated on Cricket and field hockey) for years with Basketball Without Borders and NBA Academy, but one thing they have never done is actually play an NBA game there.
That might change in 2019.
Adam Silver via the Hindustrian Times:
“We are potentially looking to play a game in Mumbai, may be next year. It would be a pre-season game,” Silver told PTI on the sidelines of the Jr NBA World Championships.
“If we do a pre-season game, we can build time and our players and their families can spend time, learn about the country’s culture,” he said… We are very focused on the Indian market.”
Don’t be surprised if we get an announcement of something like a Kings-Lakers or Kings-Thunder (Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive is from Mumbai) match-up in the coming days.
