Brandon Jennings to visit India!

NBA's rising star Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks will travel to India from May 13-18 to conduct a series of events to grow the game of basketball in Mumbai and Pune. He will become the 16th NBA or WNBA player or legend to travel to India in the last three years, as part of the league’s continued commitment to grow the game.

Jennings will attend the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Skills Challenge Finals on May 15 in Mumbai. The event is the culmination of the largest school-based initiative ever conducted by the NBA in India. Since March, the NBA and HP have taught basketball and life skills to youth in 500 schools in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. Additionally, 500 coaches attended two-day clinics in each city where they learned coaching techniques and received a “Basketball in a Box” coaching kit, which will provide them with a resource to grow basketball in their community. HP Dream Screens were used at all coaching clinics to provide video demonstrations to help illustrate certain coaching techniques.

The first thing that comes to the mind of most fans with Jennings is the legendary 55 point game as a rookie on November 14, 2009 against the Golden State Warriors. Jennings became the youngest NBA player ever to score 55 as he did it in only his seventh NBA game. Jennings averaged 16.2 ppg for the Bucks as a sophomore last season.

Before his NBA career began though, Jennings was already a legend - he was one of the best players to come out of high school and spent one season (2008-09) playing in Europe, with Lottomatica Virtus Roma in Italy. He was selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He guided his team to the NBA Playoffs in his rookie season and became the first player to win Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month four times.

“Having played in Italy, I have seen first-hand how the sport is growing globally and I am excited to visit India with the NBA to help continue the growth of the game,” said Jennings. “The NBA has the best basketball players from around the world and it is amazing to think that one of the kids I teach in India could one day play against me in the NBA.”

Fifty youth from across India have advanced to the National Skills Challenge Finals by qualifying at City Championships. Jennings will crown the boys and girls National Champions, and conduct a basketball clinic for participants. HP and the NBA will provide the champions with an HP laptop and a trip to New York City to train with an NBA coach and visit NBA headquarters.

On May 16, NBA Cares will partner with Magic Bus, a not-for-profit organization in India to conduct a basketball clinic in Mumbai. Magic Bus works towards creating equal opportunities for children and youth from vulnerable communities. Over the past 12 years, Magic Bus has used its unique “sport for development” approach to empower children and youth to make positive life choices in areas of gender, education, livelihood and health. Jennings will work with youth from two communities, using basketball to illustrate the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle.

Jennings will then travel to Pune where he will become the first NBA player to host an event in the city. He will conduct a clinic for children and coaches who participated in the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program on May 17 and will host an NBA Cares basketball clinic for disadvantaged youth on May 18.

So this is Jennings' schedule in India - catch him if you can!

May 14: Magic Bus/NBA Cares Clinic - 4:00-5:00 PM, Magic Bus, Mumbai.

May 15: Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge Finals - 3:30-7:00 PM, Indian Gymkhana, Mathunga, Mumbai.

May 17: Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Clinic - 4:30-6:00 PM, PYC Gyhkhana Club, Pune.

May 18: NBA Cares Clinic - 9:00-10:00 AM, Pune (Venue TBD).

It would have absolutely criminal for me not to embed this: so here are highlights from Jennings' fabled 55 point game. He was scoreless in the first quarter, scored 10 points in the second, then 29 in the third, and 16 in the fourth. Bucks won the game 129-125.

Sights, Words, & Video from the Warriors' "Bollywood Night"

So as you may know, the Golden State Warriors recently celebrated "Bollywood Night" when they hosted the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. It was a celebration of Indian culture by the people behind the Warriors, which include Indian-born owner of the team, Vivek Ranadivé.

Through the course of the night, fans got to see Bollywood-type dances, taste Indian food, go home with cleverly-punned "got Curry" T-shirt (Stephen Curry, get it?), etc. Click here to go on NBA Videos to watch a nice recap of Bollywood Night, featuring interviews with Stephen Curry and Ranadivé.

Ranadivé in particular makes some very interesting points here. It is great to see an Indian man in-charge of a basketball team in the world's richest league. Inviting the Indian community in Oakland/San Francisco region, as well as Indians back home to be a part of the sport of basketball, Ranadivé says, "I believe that basketball will be the sport of the 21st century. Soccer was the sport of the last generation, basketball will the sport of the next generation. It can be played inside and it can be played outside. It can be played in rich countries and in poor countries. Indians love sport, Indians love to celerbate, and Indians love a good show!"

Ranadivé also announced that the game was broadcast live in India. Yes it was, but unfortunately, all the 'Indian' related programmes, which were held pre-game, during halftime, or post-game, were not, since the broadcasting channel PIX, as I predicted, decided to show its own local advertisements. FAIL.

But hey, I'm glad they pulled if off well over there. And I hope you enjoy the pics (courtesy NBA-India) I've attached from the event to his article. In between all this hoo-haa, there was actually a basketball game played, a very entertaining one at that, too. Golden State led most of the way, even going up 18 over an excellent Mavs side at halftime. But Mavericks were a team too deep, and too experienced. Mavs went on a 15-0 fourth quarter run, and led by Dirk Nowitzki's 34 points and 13 rebounds, they pulled off a 112-106 win.

Don't worry Warrior fans. At least you enjoyed some good kebabs.

Golden State Warriors to celebrate the spirit of Bollywood

'Tis the season for... Bollywood?

NBA team Golden State Warriors, whose Vice-Chairman is Mumbai-born software entrepreneur Vivek Ranadivé, will be hosting their first ever 'Bollywood Night' when they face the Dallas Mavericks at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on Wednesday evening, March 16. The game will be shown live in India at 8 AM the next morning, Thursday, March 17, on PIX.

And what is 'Bollywood Night' exactly, you ask? Well, it's pretty much a mish-mash production of everything Indian that the Warriors' management could think of, which, pretty much equals singing, dancing, Indian food, and a couple of software people in suits.

You want Dance Performances? Dances troupes Aerodance and Bhangra Empire will be tickling your senses pre-game and at halftime. Even the Warrior Girls cheerleading troupe will be doing a Bollywood dance performance. You want Indian food? Yes, it will be available at the Oracle Arena Concessions. You want vaguely famous Indian-American popstars singing to you? A finalist at American Idol, Indian-origin American singer Anoop Desai will be crooning on-court postgame.

You want to hang out with Indian people in America / Other people with names that sound like Indian food? Desai, Vivek Ranadivé, Warriors ace guard Stephen Curry, and others will be interviewed post-game by news-anchor in San Jose, Raj Mithai. The last one qualifies for both categories: Indian-ness, and for his name sounding like Indian dessert.

And perhaps my favourite part of the whole show is that the Warriors' are giving away a T-shirt that says 'got Curry' to the first 19,000 attendants, making an awesome reference to an NBA Star and to our masalas. Too bad the Warriors' don't have a Center called Murgh Makhani, which is, my friends, the best thing to eat in the world, ever.

First of all - I need to get my hands, somehow, on that awesome T-Shirt. Secondly, I'm excited to watch this game and all the other India-related paraphernalia. Let's just hope that we can get through the night without a freakin 'Slumdog Millionaire' reference. Unlikely.

Unfortunately, I fear that the PIX channel, like they usually do, are likely to replace all the pre-game, halftime, and post-game events and replace them with a documentary showing the Making of "Did You Hear About the Morgans".

In between of all this, a basketball game will be played. Go David Lee.

After joining the Warriors' ownership, Vivek Ranadivé is looking to bring NBA to India

Remember Vivek Ranadivé? The Mumbai-native who headed to Silicon Valley, become a super-rich software mogul as founder and of software company TIBCO, and recently became vice-chairman of GSW Sports LLC Executive Board, the group that has bought ownership of NBA team Golden State Warriors? Ranadivé became the first Indian owner of an NBA team, and you go here to get a recap of Ranadivé and his new stint with the Warriors.

Well, anyways, now that he is in the NBA-ownership business too now, Ranadivé has expressed his desire to 'bring the NBA to India'. The NBA, however, is already here, well, and bumping, but Ranadivé's efforts and influence can only help the cause.

From The Economic Times:

"We will work closely with the NBA to help make it a global sport and bring it to India," Ranadivé says.

Ranadivé, author of best-selling books such as The Power of Now and The Power to Predict expects "NBA India" to succeed because he sees the basketball-viewing and playing culture sinking in easily in the country. He notes that "in a country that doesn't have much space thanks to high density of population, this is a game which can be played in smaller courts", unlike cricket, the most popular game in the country, and soccer. "Look at how popular the league is in China (the NBA was launched in China only two years ago). Similarly, it will be a huge hit in India."
The NBA has successfully promoted the game in the world's most populous nation by drafting players, notably icons such as Yao Ming, holding exhibition matches as well as through media tie-ups and other partnerships.
Ranadivé, who has vowed to make the Warriors the best "21st century" basketball team, plans to hire the best talent from across the world.
Currently, the NBA has a presence in India, but not in the form of a professional league. The Mahindra group has partnered the Association for a grassroots-level basketball league to promote the game and train the youth in the country.
On the other hand, Ranadivé will galvanise efforts to bring the NBA professional league to the country. That would involve forming a domestic unit, hiring local players, holding exhibition matches of professional teams and entering into partnerships with corporates and others to promote the game.

Although Ranadivé isn't necessarily saying anything that hasn't already been said about the potential for growth of NBA and basketball in India, I'm glad that he is showing interest. An Indian NBA owner can only be good for India.

Here's hoping that Ranadivé can have greater success with his NBA in India plan than he is currently having with the Warriors. Starting the season at an impressive 7-4 up till the day of the new company's takeover (November 15), the Warriors have since been sliding, and have only won one game since. Their current record is a dismal 8-15.

Ranadivé's company TIBCO, of which he is chairman, CEO, and founder, has its India unit in Pune. The article quoted above also mentions that TIBCO is looking up to set up a facility very soon in Hyderabad, too.

At the Garden: My photos and experiences from Madison Square Garden

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to attend my first two NBA games at the Madison Square Garden (New York) and Verizon Center (Washington), watching the Knicks host the Warriors and the Wizards host the Raptors.

It was obviously a mind-BLASTING experience... The MSG, home of the Knicks in particular has been my dream. Watching my favourite Knicks squad was a pleasure to say the least - few things in the world can match the excitement of a Knick game, regardless of how well (or unwell) the home squad is performing. I wrong about this experience in my NBA-India article a few weeks ago. It was a close game which the Warriors won by 5 points. After the game, I was also invited to go to the locker rooms and speak to some of the Knick players. I interacted with Knick starters Landry Fields, Danilo Gallinari, and Raymond Felton.

Anyways, enough writing - A picture says a thousand words, so here are some that I clicked from the Knicks game. I will upload my write-up and photos from the Wizards' game another day

Madison Square Garden, pregame



David Lee returns to play the Knicks for the first time!



Game about to tip-off!



Amar'e and David Lee at jump-off



Gallinari at the perimeter...



Amar'e Stoudemire shooting a free-throw



Toney Douglas drives in for a tough lay-up

Indian software mogul becomes owner of the Golden State Warriors

So what if Indian basketball players are still several years away from being good enough to play in the NBA? India leads the world in other fields - particularly software, and business acumen. Mumbai's Vivek Ranadivé, who is the chairman, CEO, and founder of computer software company TIBCO, took up ownership of the Golden State Warriors last week as the vice-chairman of GSW Sports LLC Executive Board. Ranadivé is the first Indian owner of an NBA team, and could open the flood gates for many more Indian entrepreneurs looking to invest in basketball.

The CEO and governor of the ownership group is Joe Lacob.

Ranadivé, a 53-year-old businessman, grew up in Juhu, Mumbai, and has been a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and postgraduate from the famed Harvard Business School. He founded TIBCO in 1997, which is "an infrastructure software company, [that] uses technology to help companies bridge the gap between the time something happens and the understanding of that event."

Ranadivé has also authored two books: The Power of Now (1999) and The Power of Predict (2006).

Here are more interesting details from Desi Hits:

Ranadive does not play basketball, however he is a big fan of the Golden State Warriors and has been a ticket holder for many years. He also coached his daughter Anjali's basketball team and helped the girls win a championship.
Seeing that the team consisted of 12 year old girls who weren't very tall and didn't have a lot of experience playing basketball he knew he had to come up with a strategy to help them succeed. He made the decision to have the girls do a full-court press for the whole game, and it worked out.
He hopes to use this out-of-the-box thinking with the Golden State Warriors as well.

He added "The areas that I hope to bring to the table in making the Warriors a 21st century team: I will help with everything from fan base managing customer loyalty programs, structure, community outreach and game play. I would also like to help make it a global brand, especially helping to popularize it in the Indian community."

This is exciting news, both from an Indian point of view and for Golden State Warrior fans. The Warriors have been an up-and-coming squad this season, boasting the talents of Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and David Lee who have given them one of their best starts in several years. They have lost a few games since then and currently hold a 7-7 record.

My next question is this: how soon before Vijay Mallya buys the Knicks?

Hibachi!

"Hibachi!"

It's 2007, and I'm playing ball at the Royal Park court in Leeds. We haven't yet started a game - my friend Zyman and I are just shooting around at one of the four baskets on the outdoor court. Before taking every wild, ill-advised three-pointer, we shout out odes to our favourite basketball players, perhaps for inspiration, but mostly because its goddamn funny.

"Kobe!" says Zyman.

"Hibachi!" I shout. After nine bricks I finally score a swish. Gilbert Arenas is watching.

It's 2008. Arenas has played only eight games the whole season due to a knee injury. The Wizards play the Cavs in the playoffs, but with his skills limited, Arenas is barely able to make a difference and save his team from making a first round exit.

It's the year 2004-2007, and the world is at the height of ArenaMania. Playing in his best years with the Washington Wizards, Arenas was an All Star in all three seasons. He led the Wizards to the playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2008, and at one point, had the team looking like amongst the best in the East. He averaged 25.5 ppg in 2004-05, 29.3 in 2006-06, and 28.4 in 2006-07. He scored a franchise record 60 points (with 8 assists and 8 rebounds) against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in an overtime victory at the Staples Centre, including an NBA record 16 points in overtime. He was so ruthless in those years, that especially after that one game, Kobe friggin Mamba Bryant called him "cold-blooded".

It's now 2009 - The season that he signed a six-year $111 million contract with the Wizards - Arenas missed almost the entire season due to his injuries, and only played two games in the end.

Back to 06-07: Arenas, also known as 'Agent 0', has made 11 of the first 13 buzzer beaters he took in the 2006-07 season, the most amazing of which were game-winners against the Bucks and the Jazz in the space of two weeks. In both situations, Arenas had the ball in the final seconds with the score tied, and in both situations, he decided to shoot a long three. And in both situations, he celebrated the basket even before it went in. Now that's gangsta.

I can never get tired of watching this...





December 24th, 2009: It's two and a half years later, and it is revealed that Arenas had stored unloaded firearms in his locker at the Verizon Centre (the Wizards home-court). In doing so, he not only violated NBA rules against bringing firearms into an arena, but also violated D.C. ordinances as well.

Almost exactly two years prior to that incident, Arenas is voted the best celebrity blogger by the 2007 Weblog Awards. He becomes the world's first blog superstar, and his hilarious and honest writings about life as an NBA superstar make him the most loved and approachable player in the league. He was the player's player, a fan of the game just like every fan that followed him.

Eight days after the story about Arenas having firearms in his locker, it is revealed on January 1, 2010, Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had unloaded guns in the Wizards' locker room during a Christmas Eve argument regarding gambling debts. The D.C. Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Attorney's office began investigating, and on January 14, 2010, Arenas was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a violation of Washington D.C.'s gun-control laws.

While the investigation is in process, Arenas continues to take matters lightly, and being famously photographed making finger-gun signs during Wizards pre-game warm-up.

Four years before this incident, while having a career-best season, Arenas begins to shout-out "Hibachi" every time he takes a jump shot. A "hibachi", according to Wikipedia, literally means "fire bowl", and its a traditional Japanese heating device. "In English, however, "hibachi" often refers to small cooking grills typically made of aluminium or cast iron, with the latter generally being of higher quality. Owing to their small size, hibachi grills are popular as a form of portable barbecue." The 6 foot Arenas was a little fire-bowl, ready to burn up anything that came in his way.

I'm jumping to the present now. David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, learns about "Hibachi's" shenanigans and decides to suspend him for the rest of the NBA season. He becomes set to miss 60 games in 2009-2010. The real kicker was this quote added by the commish: "Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game."

Ouch!

In February 2007, Gilbert's fans vote him in as a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2007 All-Star Game, thus solidifying his position as one of the most popular players in the game. In July 2008, Gilbert Arenas makes his way to the Philippines, where he was damn near worshipped by the basketball-crazy fans.

Pulling a gun on Crittenton wasn't the first time that Arenas played a tasteless prank on a teammate. Go back in time a to 2005 and here comes the funniest and most shocking of recent locker room stories: Arenas actually took a shit in teammate Andray Blatche's shoes - and he got away with it!

March 26, 2010, four days ago, Arenas was convicted of his crimes. He was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house and two years probation.

Now, let me take you waaay back. It is 2001, the night of the NBA draft, and the talented Mr. Arenas doesn't get picked by any team in the first round. Finally, with the 31st pick, the Golden State Warriors drafted him. With a vendetta against every other team that had overlooked him, Arenas went on a destructive streak, and by the time his second season in the NBA ended, he was named the league's Most Improved Player.

In 2006, now as part of the Wizards, he wasn't picked for the USA team for the FIBA World Championships, his talents and injuries cited as reasons for him to not fit into the team model. He followed the snub with a vengeance, destroying everyone else that came in his way again for the next season.

And in 2009, after only playing 15 regular season games in the last two years, and after being written off by everyone related to the game, Agent 0 started the first two months of the new season with notable performances such as a triple double against the Pacers and 45 points in a win against his former team, the Warriors.

I'm back in 2007 now. Back at the Royal Park Court. Back shooting three-pointers with a "Hibachi" shoutout, and back turning my back to celebrate the baskets even before they go in. My inspiration is Arenas, one of my favourite players, and certainly one of the most perplexing individuals in basketball. It's difficult to like him after all the foolishness and the mistakes, and it's difficult to hate someone like him with such an explosive talent and fan-friendly personality. Maybe that's the reason why he's one of my top five nominees of current NBA players that I would like to see visit India.

He's suffered through a career of downs and each time, has answered them with succesful comebacks. It is long known that Arenas performs best when he plays with a vendetta. In about seven months, at the start of the 2010-11 season, he may have a chance to prove that again. Agent 0 is officially dead - Arenas has joined LeBron to be a #6 next season, but here's hoping that the on-court drive, the swagger, the cold-bloodedness remains the same.

Here's hoping that the Hibachi will be back on fire.