NBA Jam to tip off in India for third consecutive year

NBA-India Press Release, Delhi: The NBA is launching its largest fan event ever in India when NBA Jam tips off in Gurgaon (NCR) on September 10. The traveling interactive basketball festival will bring the sights and sounds of the NBA to high traffic malls across India as part of the league’s commitment to grow the sport and its fan base in the country.

The programme, returning for the third consecutive year, has expanded and will visit five malls in four cities and feature more basketball activities and celebrity appearances and fan prizes than ever before.

Former NBA Champion Steve Smith will appear in Gurgaon at the Ambience Mall on September 10-11 to tip off the tour, which will also travel to malls in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai. Smith will interact with fans by providing basketball tips and signing autographs. As part of his trip, Smith will also train with India’s Youth Men’s National Team at Indira Gandhi Stadium and make various appearances for NBA Jam partners.

Smith, who currently serves as a studio analyst for NBA TV, was an NBA All-Star in 1998, won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003, and was a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team that won a gold medal in Sydney, Australia.

“Basketball is a global game and I am very excited for my first trip to India to join the NBA’s efforts to grow the sport,” said Smith. “NBA Jam is going to be a great event that will provide fans across India with a unique opportunity to experience the NBA.”

NBA Jam will transport fans to the floor of an NBA arena on Center Court, which will host exciting skill competitions such as the HP Free Throw Contest, and the adidas Shootout. Fans can also test their basketball knowledge during NBA trivia games.

The tour will feature the first-ever Sprite NBA 3-on-3 tournament in India in each city for players 16 to 21. Winning teams from each city will earn an all-expense paid trip to Mumbai to compete in the Sprite NBA 3-on-3 National Championship Finals on Oct. 8-9 at the Phoenix Mills Mall. The National Champions will receive NBA prizes.

Sprite will also conduct its first-ever NBA promotion in India which will launch in conjunction with NBA Jam and will include a grand prize all-expense paid trip to the United States for five lucky winners. The ‘Sprite NBA Basket Blast’ promotion will provide fans that purchase a Sprite at participating outlets from the middle of September to middle of October an opportunity to win a trip to New York to visit the city’s landmarks and tour NBA headquarters.

Here is the schedule for the 3rd NBA Jam:

Gurgaon: Sept. 10-11 Ambience Mall

Delhi: Sept. 17-18 Select City Walk

Bangalore: Sept. 24-25 Forum Mall

Chennai: Oct. 1-2 Express Avenue Mall

Mumbai: Oct. 8-9 Phoenix Mills Mall

Former NBA champ Steve Smith to launch NBA Jam in India

Steve Smith, the former NBA champ will be visiting India to launch the 3rd 'NBA Jam'. Smith, who had a fairly productive career in the 1990s, which included an All Star appearance in 1998 and winning a championship in his ageing years with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.



His years with the Miami Heat (1991-1995) and the Hawks (1994-99) were probably the most productive individually of his career (he averaged above 20 ppg three times in this stretch), and the stint with the Spurs was his high-point for team success, but I remember Smith mostly for his contribution to the Portland Traiblazers, for whom he played just 2 seasons from 1999-2001, but left some indelible memories.



That Blazers team will go down in history as one of the greatest to NOT win an NBA championship. In 2000, Portland boasted a team with Damon Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace, and Arvydas Sabonis in the starting lineup, and Bonzi Wells, Detlef Schrempf, Brian Grant, Jermaine O'Neal, and Greg Anthony off the bench. Averaging 14.9 ppg, Smith was the 2nd leading scorer in this balanced squad. This team banded together to give the LA Lakers one of the most classic Conference Finals of all time, and on of the best NBA games ever. With the series tied 3-3, the Blazers blew a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter and watched the Lakers reach the NBA finals, and eventually become champions for the first time in the Shaq-Kobe era.



Smith did get his ring though, with the Tim Duncan-led Spurs three years later. A specialised shooter, he played his role of the bench to help the team succeed.



Since retirement, Smith has worked in broadcasting, both for the Atlanta Hawks and for NBA TV.



Smith will be launching the NBA Jam on September 10-11 at the Ambiance Mall in Gurgaon. From NBA.com/India

NBA JAM India is a four-city, five-week free interactive basketball experience, which captures the excitement of the NBA through basketball activities, entertainment acts, and off-court events. The opening event will take place on September 10 & 11 and then travel to five malls across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore.



NBA Legend Steve Smith will launch the event in Delhi, interacting with the fans and spectators at the event and making various marketing appearances during his time in India.



At NBA Jam, fans are transported to the floor of an NBA arena on Center Court, which hosts exciting skill competitions and shooting contests. The highlight activity of NBA Jam will be the Sprite 3x3 tournament which will run daily at each NBA Jam stop.

Mahindra NBA Challenge returns to Bangalore for 2nd Season

After a successful opening season and a promising start to their second edition in Mumbai, Delhi and Ludhiana, the Mahindra NBA League Challenge returns to Bangalore, promising exciting action. The league, to be held at the Sri Kantaveera Stadium from August 13 to September 30, will have 96 teams participating, as compared to last year’s 76.





With the addition of sub-junior category (12-13 years), matches will be played in four age groups, with youth (14-16 years), junior (16-18) and senior (19 and above), being the other three. The league will culminate with the All-Star game from Sept 30 to Oct 2.



“We have more teams, more venues, more matches, more action and it’s all going to be good for Indian basketball,” said Akash Jain, Senior Director of Business Development and Partnerships for NBA India.

The Mahindra NBA Challenge to tip off Season two in Ludhiana

NBA Press Release: MUMBAI, India– The Mahindra NBA Challenge, the largest, multi-city, community-based basketball league in India, is returning to Ludhiana for its second season on July 30. The programme, conducted in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Punjab State Basketball Association, will run for eight weeks, culminating on September 18.

In order to give more youth the opportunity to participate this year, the programme has expanded to four divisions, up from three in season one: sub-junior for ages 12 to 13, youth for ages 14 to16, and junior for ages 16 to 18 and adults 19 and over. This has resulted in 120 teams registering to play in Ludhiana, up from 72 last season.

Participants in the Mahindra NBA Challenge will receive NBA-style basketball training in a fun environment and have the chance to compete against each other over the course of eight weeks at the Guru Nanak Stadium. Season two of the programme, which already visited Mumbai and Delhi starting in November 2010, has seen participation increase by 30% from the first season.

The league will culminate with a weekend-long celebration of basketball from September 16 to 18 that will feature an All-Star Game, semi-finals and finals. The event will engage the community with NBA-style entertainment, musical and dance performances and on-court basketball contests where fans can win exciting prizes.

The inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge, held from April 2010 to September 2010, included leagues in Mumbai, Ludhiana, and Bangalore and attracted thousands of participants, including members of India’s Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Team. For more information please visit www.facebook.com/mahindranbachallenge.

NBA-India’s Troy Justice holds camp for coaches and players in Kerala

Troy Justice, the Director of Basketball Operations of NBA-India, held a three-day basket ball clinic concluded at the Central Stadium at Thiruvanathpuram which concluded on Wednesday, June 8th. The clinic brought together 100 coaches and 40 players from around Kerala.

“The clinic was organised by Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) with the help of Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC). Troy came to Thiruvanathpuram with his aim or the aim of NBA in India which is to spread basketball at the grassroots level which would encourage more kids to play the game,” said P J Sunny, chairman of the selection committee.

The camp was held from June 6th - June 8th. Justice has indicated three priorities for the growth of Indian basketball: To ensure the growth of the game throughout the country, to provide a focus on the grassroots programme to encourage more kids to play the game, and then to train and develop quality coaches and players.

"The coaches were very engaged and had a strong desire to learn the technical aspects of the game," said Justice, "We covered a lot of advanced training with them in just a 3-day period. It was a very effective clinic and I felt very good about it."

He added: "We had high level players that were going through the drills and practices with us - So the clinic was very practical and hands/on, and involved some of the top players in the state."

Justice was assisted by Eban Hyams, a professional player playing in the Australian Basketball league. Hyams has represented Coastal Georgia Club, Sydney Kings, Singapore Slingers and also played for Galil Elyon Club in the ULEB Cup in the European circuit. He had his basketball schooling in America as well as Australia.

The three-day camp was also attended by few coaches from outside Kerala, including two international referees. One of these referees was Ramesh Kumar from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, who runs a Rural Basketball Trust. The camp also got the support from the players of KSEB, Kerala Police and the U-18 Girl’s team.

The last day went off with continuity offence, out of bounce moves, zone defense and offences. Players and Coaches had the chance to share their views and suggestions with Troy during the concluding session. Participants were given away certificates by Justice

Basketball Coaches clinic to be held in Thiruvanathpuram

A special three-day basketball clinic for basketball coaches in the state of Kerala will be held at the Central Stadium in the state's capital of Thiruvanathpuram from June 6-8th. The clinic will be headed by Troy Justice, the Director of Basketball Operations, NBA-India.

Coaches working with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) as well as the Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC) will be able to participate in this clinic. The clinic is also open for interested amateur coaches.

According to the Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) (source: The Hindu):

The release said that Troy has indicated three priorities for the growth of Indian basketball. To ensure the growth of the game throughout the country, provide a focus on the grassroots programme to encourage more kids to play the game and then to train and develop quality coaches and players. The idea, the release further stated, was to hear basketballs bouncing all over the country. Thirty-two boys and girls of the Kerala junior teams will also get the chance to work out with Troy during the three-day clinic.

Troy Justice, who assisted India's Kerala-born superstar Geethu Anna Jose to seal tryouts with three-WNBA squads last month, will be returning to Geethu's state to help the growth of the game.

In an interview with the Deccan Chronicle, Justice added: "NBA has set itself some goals in India. Firstly, we want to build and develop the game of basketball throughout the county. Secondly, we want to do that by focusing on programme at the grassroot level and finally to train and develop coaches and players. I am eager to lend my international experience to this workshop."

Coaches interested in attending the clinic should contact Dr. M.M. Chacko, clinic coordinator, ph: 9446030638 or 0471-2530638.

Brandon Jennings attends finals of Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Skills Challenge

Danish Qureshi of Hume High School, Mumbai and Nishanti of St. Joseph’s Anglo Indian Secondary School, Chennai were crowned champions in the Jr. NBA and Jr WNBA National Skills Challenge and earned an all-expense paid trip to the NBA headquarters in the US.

Together with 50 of the most skilled youngsters of the 10-12 year age group, Qureshi and Nishanti exhibited their skills at the National Finals of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Skills Challenge at the Indian Gymkhana basketball courts on Sunday evening.

The event was attended by Brandon Jennings, star NBA player of the Milwaukee Bucks, who was also a judge at the finals. Jennings handed the winners their trophy and their prizes. Impressed by the talent displayed by some of the kids, and gave the students some useful tips on the game and demonstrated a few tricks, too.

Geethu Anna Jose, the former captain of the Indian women national team, too was pleased with the talent and determination displayed by some of the students and had encouraging words for the winners, who will have the opportunity to train with an NBA coach, visit the NBA league headquarters and historic landmarks in New York.

The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program in India, supported by Basketball Federation of India (BFI), HP, Spalding, and Ten Sports saw around 500 schools from five cities participate in the Skills Challenge, a competition that tests the participants’ abilities in various basketball fundamentals, including dribbling, passing, and shooting.

NBA’s Greg Stolt: “In India, Basketball thrives because of the people’s passion.”

There could perhaps be no more suitable candidate for the NBA to send to India to help promote the game than Greg Stolt. Stolt, who works with the international operations unit of the NBA, made his third trip to India in late March/April 2011, during which time he has continued on the trail that his fellow NBA authority and the Director of Basketball Operations in India Troy Justice has been blazing for the last few years. In his most recent trip, Stolt was involved in helping conduct coaching clinics in Bangalore and New Delhi and the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skill Challenge in Mumbai and Pune.

Stolt’s resume is proof that he is the perfect candidate for the job because he brings with him experience of playing high-level basketball in the United States and across the world, as well as experience in behinds the scenes management that the development of the game requires, especially in other parts of Asia.

Stolt played college basketball in the University of Florida, and after finishing his degree, he tested the waters of the NBA as a player with a few tryouts. When that didn’t work out, he spent his professional career living the dream of a international basketball journeyman: from the D-League in the US, to league’s in Belgium, Spain, France, Japan, and Australia, Stolt played basketball overseas for six years. Afterwards, he settled with a job in Japan, which helped him improve his business acumen.

“The NBA recruited me to work for them because I’ve seen how things work in several different countries,” Stolt says, “My mixed background of business, basketball, and international experience helps a lot.”

Stolt has been working with the NBA for two years now, during which time he has visited India three times: In December 2009, he came to India for refurbishments and inaugurations of basketball courts in Mumbai and Chennai. Then again in the summer of 2010, he was involved with the running of the first season of the Mahindra NBA Challenge for two months.

“My job is to help improve the level of the game in India,” Stolt adds, “Along with Troy Justice and the rest of the NBA’s team here, I have been working with several people locally to build a strategy for the growth of the game here.”

Stolt also has knowledge and experience of the business of basketball in three other important Asian countries which could be used as reference models for the game in India – China, Japan, and South Korea.

Comparing the game in India to the other three countries, Stolt said, “These other markets are probably a lot more mature than India right now, in terms of their federation structure, their infrastructure, and the system of basketball development from the school level.”

“But in India, we see that change is coming – sport is growing quicker than ever before, especially since the success and popularity of the IPL or the Commonwealth Games. India is a little behind, sure, but it’s getting there. The best thing about this country is that its proactive and the people here are yearning for change.”

This year, the tasks were varied for Stolt, but equally important nonetheless. Since the NBA is targeting teaching the game to younger players in India so that they can get an early start, both the coaches training programme and the Junior Skills’ Challenge programmes are going to be crucial.

“We can’t go out and coach every child in this country,” Stolt says, “That’s why we have been holding the coaches’ training programme, so that these coaches know how best to train 12-year-olds. This programme was especially helpful for the young coaches, whom we provided with as much of our own knowledge and resources as we could.

In the two coaches’ clinics held in Bangalore and Delhi, there were about a 100 coaches in attendance each time. Stolt’s NBA-India associates Troy Justice and Marty Conlon extend the clinics to other cities like Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai, and a total of 500 coaches are expected to have been involved countrywide.

Meanwhile, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge was set out to involve students from over 500 schools in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune in a youth basketball development programme. Stolt worked in Pune and Mumbai, where an average of 140 kids participated from each city.

“I think the Junior Skills Challenge was right on target,” says Stolt, “When the kids came out to compete in the challenges, we saw that the coaches we had worked with earlier had already prepared them in the right way. They knew the right drills and the fundamentals."

With the on-field work over, Stolt returned to the NBA office in New York to work on the other side of his job: planning and strategy. One of the NBA’s long term programmes, he says, has been to identify more markets in India for the type of programmes that have so far been held in some of the country’s major cities. The NBA is hoping to develop a database of the people with whom they have been involved in India and also study the results of the public’s reactions to the various programmes held by the NBA here. “We want to shape things to be perfectly suitable for the Indian market,” he says.”

And as far as he is concerned, Stolt is certain that the people that he has worked with will make the tasks a whole lot easier. “The one thing that pleasantly surprised me a lot about coming and working with India were the people involved with the game here,” Stolt said, “Unlike China, Japan, or Korea, who have structured leagues and systems, there is no guaranteed career paths for the coaches, players, trainers and referees in India: but they do it for the love of the game, and the game thrives here because of the people’s passion. That is a wonderful thing.”

A memorable weekend in LA - My pics from the 60th NBA All Star Game

About a month ago, I was lucky enough to represent NBA.com/India at the 60th NBA All Star Weekend in Los Angeles. As you can imagine for someone who has been a lifelong fan of the game, it was indubitably one of the most memorable experiences of my life. From getting to meet and converse with the world's best basketball players, watching them compete against each other in the All Star Game and other exciting challenges, to just soaking in the terrific carnival of basketball that the City of Los Angeles had transformed into, there were way too many glorious moments to properly recapture the essence of actually being there.



I kept a daily blog for NBA-India during the Weekend. Check it out!
Day 1: Los Angeles, the Home to a Basketball Pilgrim on ASW.
Day 2: Can the Stars come out and play?
Day 3: The City of Angels, Hollywood, and the Black Mamba.

I know it took some time for me to get around to do this, but I've uploaded several of the photographs that I snapped from my own (very primitive) camera. Of course, if you want well taken photos from good cameras at fantastic angles, you are much better off finding them here - for everyone else, check out my pics and anecdotes below.

The weekend started with the Rookie practice and the Rookie game on Friday. But Friday afternoon was the real entertaining time, as the Media Members were invited to interview all of the Eastern and Western Conference All Star Players.

Being one of the hometown players, the Lakers' power-forward Pau Gasol obviously garnered a lot of attention, from the local as well as the Spanish-language Media. I got around to asking him about his experiences in India. "It was a great experience," Gasol said, "I had a chance to get to know India a little bit, but at the same time I was very busy. Hopefully I can visit again and get some downtime to do more. I'm hoping basketball continues to grow there: The NBA has done a good job in promoting the sport in India. They have gotten the kids excited about it and showed how great basketball is."

A few weeks before the All Star Game, Chris Paul, one of the top point guards in the league, conversed with fans in India via an online chat. Paul remembered the event and spoke about the future growth of the league worldwide. "It's unbelievable how the game has grown," he said, "Just a year ago, I went to London, Paris, and over in China. At one point in the late 90s you could say that basketball is America's game, but now it's a world's game. Everyone has caught up."


The toughest people to catch in the room were LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony (this was nearing the trade deadline and he was still a member of the Nuggets then), hometown player Blake Griffin (who took part in the Rookie Challenge, the Slam Dunk competition, and the All Star Game), and of course, the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant. The entire city of LA was like Kobe's shrine, and this was literally the clearest pic I could get of him - Kobe's media table was swarmed by nearly a 100 media people even BEFORE he showed up! Winning the All Star Game MVP later only added to his local mythical status.

And here's Derrick Rose, who in about a month's time will be named the regular season's MVP. Rose and Durant were two of the least hyped stars at the Weekend, despite the fact that they had been having incredible individual seasons. Playing point guard to the likes of LeBron and Wade, Rose made it clear before the All Star Game that he was going to defer and let others dominate the night.

Surrounded by 100s like Kobe is his Eastern Conference counterpart LeBron. LeBron ended up having only the second-ever All Star Game triple double since Michael Jordan - an incredible feat - but it wasn't enough as he wasn't able to stop Kobe and co run away with the game on Sunday night.

Many people may not remember this, but Garnett came to India about four years ago, while he was still a Minnesota player, as part of an adidas promotional trip. He visited Bangalore, Delhi, and Agra. When I asked him about it, Garnett spoke about his fondness for Indian food. "I'm a curry guy - so I loved it there!" he said.
On a more serious note, KG added how impressed he was by the schoolkids he worked with back in India. "The best thing about my tour was how the kids in India embraced basketball straight away," said Garnett, "My advice would be that they should know that they can improve in multiple areas. I spoke to kids there and told them that whatever your focus on life may be, be it football or basketball or their studies - they should do it with passion. Show love for whatever you're doing and do it with your heart first."

The first event on Saturday morning was a practice session for the two teams. All the All Stars took different sides of the same court to practice with their coaches for the weekend, but mostly, joke around with each other. After the practice session, they held a Guinness Book of World Records competition of most three-pointers made by a duo in a minute. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics represented the East and scored 13 threes. But their record was short-lived, as Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant quickly took on the challenge for the West and nailed 15 three-pointers to snatch the record away!

Right after the practice session, the Media were given permission to talk to the players on court. This is when I got a chance to approach Dwyane Wade and talk to him. Wade, who was the MVP of last year's All Star Game, said that this time around, he will not be gunning for the MVP - "I predict my teammate Chris Bosh will get it," he said. Wade had a low-key game, but nearly gave his fans a scare after he suffered a minor injury by stepping on Deron Williams' foot during the All Star Game.

One of the more likable characters in the course of the weekend was Ray Allen, who I got the opportunity to interview twice, on Friday and on Saturday. Allen had recently beaten Reggie Miller's record of most three-pointers made, and seemed to be on a roll, having the most efficient season of his career, even in an older age. This was the night that he was to participate in (and lose) the three-point shooting competition. Allen said that when he was growing up, his own shooting idol was Dell Curry.
Another anecdote regarding Ray Allen is that, the previous day, I asked him a question that I didn't really expect him to take seriously: see, I'm a big fan of Spike Lee's basketball classic He Got Game, featuring Ray Allen as a talented young star, Jesus Shuttlesworth, and Denzel Washington as his father who plays him one-on-one at the end of the game. I will not tell you any more about it, except that you need to go and see it. But back to my question: "Ray - who has been your toughest basketball challenge - Kobe Bryant... Or Denzel Washington?"
Without a flinch, and with a straight face, Jesus Shuttlesworth answered: "My toughest challenge is probably eating too much lasagna before a game!"

For most of the time, Thunder teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook took their interviews together, a good sign of the bond between the two young stars of one of the league's most exciting up-and-coming squads. Both of them had led Team USA to the FIBA World Championship gold in Turkey last summer, and in the progress, Kevin Durant won the tournament's MVP. Durant was optimistic about the growth of basketball worldwide. "It's great to see the talent developing around the world," he said, "I hope that one day basketball can become the most popular game in the world."

This photo is from Saturday night - the Slam Dunk competition, and here's Blake Griffin about to take off for his final dunk, while being serenaded "I believe I can fly" by a gospel choir, ready to jump over a car. The hype for this event may have been greater than the final product, but actually being there in person made this one of the most entertaining nights ever. I also believe that this was surely the most entertaining slam dunk competition since Vince Carter destroyed everything in his sight 11 years ago. Check out the video of Griffin's dunk here. And for good measure and nostalgia, here are Vince Carter's finest aerial moments.

Lakers fans, the photo below is for you. For Clippers fans, too, if there are any here. This is the Staples Center, the Mecca of Los Angeles Basketball. The area around Staples was entirely of a basketball theme. And I was lucky enough to be given a short tour of the Arena hours before the All Star Game.




ANDDDDD... Here we go... Tip off to the 60th NBA All Star Game - Amar'e Stoudemire and Tim Duncan tipping it off. It was the beginning to the end to a wonderful weekend - thanks a lot NBA for helping me soak in this amazing experience!

What were your thoughts on the All Star Weekend? What were your favourite moments and your favourite players? Feel free to share any thoughts on the comments section below...

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.

NBA to host 1st Jr. NBA/ Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge in India

Press Release: MUMBAI, India, March 14, 2011 – The most comprehensive Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program ever in India tipped off today in Mumbai with the first of a series of coaching clinics. Students from approximately 500 schools in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune will participate in the NBA’s international youth basketball development program that builds the game of basketball within schools and teaches its fundamentals and values to youth in a fun environment. This will mark the first-ever NBA initiative held in Pune as the league continues to expand in India.

The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program in India is being supported by Basketball Federation of India (BFI), HP, Spalding, and Ten Sports.

“The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program will not only provide access to basketball for thousands of children across the country, but will help develop quality coaches who can become ambassadors for our sport,” said NBA India Senior Director of Development, Akash Jain. “We believe this program is a logical next step in our commitment to growing the game in India, and thanks to the support of our partners we will be reaching a large number of players and coaches in five major cities, including our first NBA event in Pune.”

At the core of the program is the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge, a competition for boys and girls ages 10 to 12 that tests participants’ abilities in various basketball fundamentals, including dribbling, passing, and shooting. Local Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA coaches will implement the first round of competition in approximately 100 schools in each of the five cities. Four winners from each school – two girls and two boys – will move on to compete in a citywide competition of 400 participants with 10 winners from each city (5 boys and 5 girls) moving on to compete in front of an NBA star at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA National Skills Challenge on May 14. One boy and one girl will be crowned Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge Champions and will each win an all expenses paid trip to New York City where they will have the opportunity to train with an NBA coach, visit NBA league headquarters and historic landmarks throughout the city.

In order to provide coaches necessary resources to establish a consistent and sustained basketball curriculum in schools, the NBA has partnered with the BFI and HP to distribute a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA ‘Basketball in a Box’ kit to 500 schools across India. This box will include a coaching guide customized for India, a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge overview, clipboard, stopwatch, basketballs, and other equipment. Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA coaches will learn about fundamental skill development at the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge from NBA coaches at two-day coaching clinics that will be held in each city to tip off the program.

Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Skills Challenge participants and coaches will be able to keep up with their competition by visiting NBA.com/India, which will include program information, coaching and player guides, training videos, and player highlights.

The first Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA program staged in India was the 2008 Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Hoops School in Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai. The five-week program included coaching and youth clinics and tournaments conducted at between 20 and 25 schools in each city. Additionally, coaching guides and posters were distributed throughout the country, reaching more than 500,000 youth.

NBA is (finally) back on Indian TV... With a BANG!

I admit that I was starting to get the jitters. My forehead was sweating, my feet were feeling the pins-and-needles, my throat felt dry. It wasn't any kind of fever - well, not the explainable physical kind anyway - it was withdrawal.

Life was all hunky dory in June: the NBA Finals were on TV every other day, and I had spent many (many) early mornings sleepily drudging around my home with a cup of hot coffee and a warm blanket, watching live basketball games. Any self-respecting hoops fan in India would have done exactly the same, ignore the 9 and a half hour (on the east coast) to 12 and a half hour (on the West-Side) time difference to watch the games live. That's just what we do. Damn those who wait for the prime-time repeats in the evening, because by then, most of us have already read the recaps, analysed the box scores, and watch the top ten plays of the day online.

The season finished in mid-June, and the NBA went on the full offensive in India in the off-season. We welcomed superstars Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol to our shores. We participated in the Mahindra-NBA Challenges in Mumbai, Bangalore, Ludhiana, and Delhi, taking NBA team monikers. We read NBA articles by Indian writers, for Indian readers, in the NBA's India website (including a weekly column by yours truly!). We bought the jerseys and wore the shoes.

It was indeed, an epic off-season for the NBA in India, and the 2010-11 season was supposed to be one of the greatest ever. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh were together in Miami. The Celtics brought in Shaq and got stronger. The Knicks got Amar'e and became relevant again, and the Bulls improved with the Boozer signing. Thunder, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbook, were promising to become everyone's second favourite team. Dwight Howard left with a good impression in India, making fans crave to watch him and his Magic team a little more. And of course, the champions Lakers were back, bigger and badder, looking to make it a three-peat.

Until of course, a silent tragedy struck. There were no more promos for the upcoming season on ESPN and Star Sports. No recap shows, no games at those ungodly hours in the morning.

This is when the jitters and the pins-and-needles started. We waited a whole month, cursed and complained, but nothing came our way.

And then, with one epic announcement, it all changed. The NBA announced on Thursday evening that it has signed two TV deals in India, with Taj Television (Ten Sports) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) Private Ltd (PIX). The best part of this deal? There will now be FOUR live NBA games shown in India every week. In addition, there will be the return of a lot of NBA's special programming, as well as special events such as All Star Game, Playoffs, and Finals, of course.

It seems that the NBA's long marriage with ESPN/Star Sports (ESS) in India is finally over. The affair with Taj Television and MSM has just begun!

So here's a rundown of all that will be coming our way on the two channels for the rest of the season. Please refrain from salivating on your keyboard.

Ten Sports

- Two live games every week, on Thursday morning and Saturday morning.
- Replays of the live games on both days at primetime hours.
- Live coverage of the All Star Game.
- Live coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
- Live coverage of one Conference's Finals.
- Live coverage of the NBA Finals.
- NBA highlight recaps and NBA grassroots events in India, locally produced by Taj Television, for Ten Sports and select Zee Network Channels.
- 36 episodes of Real NBA, a half hour weekly reality programme that provides viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at the biggest stories from around the league. It will air at primetime on Ten Sports and in some of Zee's regional channels in LOCAL DIALECTS!

PIX

- Two live games every week, on Wednesday morning and Friday morning.
- Live coverage of the NBA Playoffs.
- Live coverage of one Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 and Western Conference Finals in 2012.
- 36 episodes of NBA Action a renowned highlights show that captures the latest game action and league news, giving fans an inside look at the best players in the NBA.
- A new weekly original program, NBA in 30. Each episode of NBA in 30 will showcase a condensed game in thirty minutes.

“The NBA has a growing audience in India and Ten Sports will enhance the viewing experience by providing additional insight, localized content, and interviews apart from the traditional telecast,” said CEO of Sports Business ZEEL Atul Pande. “I am sure we will enjoy a long relationship with the NBA as we are committed to being a leader in acquiring, producing and televising the most important sports programming.”

“The NBA is one of the world's top sports properties, and is comprised of some of the greatest athletes on the planet,” said MSM India CEO Man Jit Singh. “This historic agreement allows PIX to deliver all of the action and excitement of the NBA to Indian sports fans, while launching a partnership between MSM and the NBA which we expect to widen and grow through the years.”

I must say, I am very, very impressed by all this. Four games a week! That means, Wednesday to Saturday morning I'm going to be busy, back inside my blanket and with my cup of coffee. I especially like the idea of the NBA in 30 show that will be on PIX: it will be a great way to introduce the game to a whole new audience, who, in half an hour, will get a good experience of how exciting NBA basketball is.

Ah, the sickness is gone. I can relax again. The first game, according to NBA Global Programming list, is tomorrow, Saturday morning, at 9 AM: Dallas Mavericks @ Utah Jazz on PIX. The schedule for the Ten Sports games hasn't been put up there at the time of writing, soon I'm sure all will be revealed.

"Practice hard so the games are easy" - Troy Justice at Coaches Clinic in Ludhiana

Ever since the NBA Mahindra Challenge began to hold its league in Ludhiana, the city's Guru Nanak Stadium hasn't had a calm weekend afternoon. Every Saturday and Sunday has seen hordes of teams from all around Punjab suit up to play in this exciting and competitive league.

But this Saturday was different. With exams in the air, most youth teams decided to take a break from the hoops, leaving the stadium eerily quiet. Well, mostly eerily quiet, because this was the day that NBA-India's Director of Basketball Operations Troy Justice chose to hold a clinic for about 20 experienced coaches from around the state. With the help of the Ludhiana Academy Basketball team, Justice worked on several defensive, dribbling, and offensive drills.

If you're like me, even the relative quiet of the stadium, free from all the hype and the blaring speakers and cheering crowds, would've resulted in a different kind of excitement. Relishing the opportunity, I got to observe Justice teach several drills to the players and the coaches, especially as he focused on every tiny detail that effects the big picture. It is as important to perfect your shooting action as it is to know where to position your feet when defending between two players. It is as important to make that extra pass on offence as it is to know exactly when and and where you should raise your elbow to block off a player trying to make cutting move to the basket.

Justice spoke to the coaches about the importance of being patient with the players, even the ones who were slower in picking up the little details. The constant repetition of the defensive and offensive plays, done over and over again with each players could have been boring to the layman, but to these coaches, it was a fascinating exercise in perfecting your practices. The coaches also took the time to hold intense discussions amongst themselves about these drills. They took notes, watched, and learned several of the drills. I don't think the players involved realised how lucky they were!

Justice's motto for the day seemed to be: "Practice hard so that the games are easy." He said that if the coaches put the players into extremely difficult situations during the practices, they would not only find a lot to teach from these situations, but the players would then find the in-game situations easier. Justice held difficult offensive drills such as pitting three players against six or asking one player to dribble down the court to score at the basket on the other end while being defended by two players.

Additionally, Justice and the players worked on post defence, weak-side help defence, several dribbling drills with two basketballs, and defensive positioning.

At the end of the day, the coaches were presented with a coaching tips DVD and NBA-India Coaching guides by Justice. He also encouraged them to create their own detailed playbooks so that they could be more involved with the design of each aspect of the game.

An afternoon well spent, then. In taking their time to summit together to theorise and practice the teaching of hoops, each of the coaches will be able to go back and influence hundreds of other basketball players around the state and the country.

Dwight Howard coming to India!

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Brace yourself, fellow Hoopistanis... the NBA is about to make a BIG presence (in every sense of the word) in India - news has leaked that none other than Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic will be landing in our shores in 10 days.

Howard will be one of the biggest stars to ever come to India - the Magic player is the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year, has been the league's leading rebounder for the past three seasons, is a four-time all star, three-time member of the All-NBA First team, is a Slam Dunk Champion from 2008, and is the self-proclaimed new Superman (although a certain Shaq may have something to say about that!)

This is exciting news for basketball fans in India, as the NBA continues its grand plan to popularise the sport in the country. A big player was promised... and a big player will be delivered... In the shape of the 6 foot 11 'Minotaur', the best Center in the league!

The NBA in India is currently busy with implementing the Bangalore and Ludhiana Mahindra-NBA Challenge programmes - a surprisingly positive response has been seen from hoopsters from both these cities, and also from the Mumbai league that was held a couple of months ago.

Howard (24), was the first pick by the Orlando Magic in the 2004 draft - he joined the NBA straight after high school from the Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Ever since, he has been one of the league's most dominant players - grabbing rebounds, swatting shots, donning on the 'Superman' cape for the Slam Dunk competitions, and collecting double-doubles like spare change. He has led the Magic to three straight division titles and one conference title, when the Magic went to the NBA Finals in 2009 (only to lose 4-1 to the Lakers).

Howard is traveling around the world this off-season - he has been to China and Taiwan in the past few weeks, conducting clinics, playing pickup basketball and judging dunk contests as a part of promotional tours for the NBA, Amway and Adidas. He heads to Senegal next, and then to India. He will also follow Amar'e Stoudemire's footsteps into Israel this offseason.

The visit brings back memory of Kevin Garnett's adidas-promotion visit in 2006, when he was mobbed by crazed fans everywhere he went (including by yours truly at the Sanksriti School in Delhi!).

Come on over, D12. India is waiting with open arms. Someone find a large pagri to fit his head.

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The NBA-wallahs are here: Will India echo with the sound of bounce?

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This article was first published on SLAMOnline on June 4, 2010.

Does India need basketball?

As an Indian would say, the NBA-wallahs are coming. The Basketball-wallahs are here. (wallah: Hindi & Urdu – a person who is associated with a particular work or who performs a specific duty or service -- usually used in combination [with another word]: Merriam-Webster) For the past few years, the NBA has accelerated its interest in promoting basketball in India – it seems a logical step at a huge Asian market after the NBA’s successes in China. I got a chance to interview NBA’s Director of Basketball Operations in India, Troy Justice, and as I sat down to write and share the NBA’s vision through him, this most basic of questions struck me.

Does India really need basketball?

India has long been a ‘one-sport’ nation, a nation where the majority of our money, talent, TV spots, sponsorships, results, superstars, loyal fans, crazed fans, media, scandals, congratulations, criticisms, successes, failures, hard work, corruption, headlines, breaking news, scoreboards, painted faces, flags, idols, Facebook status updates, Twitter Trending Topics, and heated conversations in chai-shops and in train compartments involve cricket and only cricket. Every other sport in the country has been overshadowed by cricket…

… And when it hasn’t, there still doesn’t seem to be space for basketball in our history. When an Indian sports magazine released a special list of 101 Milestones in Indian Sporting History, nowhere amongst the “good, bad, and ugly” of events in our history is there sign of basketball, amongst a list that included Cricket, Field Hockey, Football, Shooting, Chess, Billiards, Badminton, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling, Mountaineering, Swimming, Golf, Volleyball, Snooker, Cycling, Weightlifting, Boxing, Table-Tennis, and Formula One Racing.

Yes, Table friggin Tennis.

Not to say that basketball in India hasn’t had its own memorable milestones – they have just been insignificant when compared to other sports. Particularly cricket.

But the more I spoke to Troy Justice, the more I began to believe that this was about to change. In all my years as a basketball fan, player, and recently, as a writer, I have never felt more optimistic about the future of basketball in India. And this movement towards change is ready to take-off astronomically with the arrival of Justice and the NBA-wallahs. The time that basketball scores a major milestone in Indian sports history is not too far off…

Justice has been involved with bringing basketball to India in different capacities for nearly two decades. For 15 years, he worked for ‘Athletes in Action – Basketball’ in various capacities as a professional international player, head coach, and Director of Basketball. In the early 90s, he brought a team from the US to India to compete against the national team, clubs, and universities. He has been returning to India over the past 19 years with teams from the USA to play competitive games, run coaching clinics and basketball camps. When he began working with the NBA, it made perfect sense for the association to choose him to lead basketball operations in India.

“India has been giving signals of its development globally,” said Justice, “Not just in sport, but in terms of its expanding economy and infrastructure. The world understands the country’s growth, and it is a natural process for the NBA to come here as the league continues to develop a global platform.”

“India is a sport loving and passionate country – Basketball can and will be successful here.”

The biggest venture that the NBA is involved with in India is the Mahindra-NBA Challenge – a multi-city, community-based, recreational league. The league began in Mumbai on April 17th, and after seven weeks, will be concluding this weekend with its playoffs, an All-Star game, Shooting Competitions, and the Championship Games. It involves a youth and an adult division has and attracted more than 1000 basketball enthusiasts in Mumbai.

What is perhaps more important in the programme are the training through which Justice and others have been teaching basketball fundamentals to the participants. Justice will next be overseeing similar Mahindra-NBA challenge programmes in two more Indian cities in the coming months: Bangalore and Ludhiana.

Justice has been involved in holding coaching clinics throughout the country, through which he is looking to train and develop NBA coaches at the grassroots level. He was in the city of Nagpur most recently holding a clinic with around 50 coaches. Coaching development is an important issue that the NBA is hoping to engage with deeper – India has no shortage of basketball coaches, but a constant complaint has always been that the coaching styles, tactics, and philosophy hasn’t evolved positively over the years.

In terms of player development, the NBA is looking to be involved through clinics, camps, and via the country’s academic structure. “We will be working with all the age ranges and basketball ability,” said Justice, “From children in the grassroots to schools, colleges, and then working with the elite players in the national team.”

The above initiative is an important one – basketball’s stature may be dubious in India in terms of milestone events, but there is no shortage of opportunity. Most of the schools in the country have basketball courts and most communities have access to a court. If the will is there, a basketball court is never too far for the average Indian child.

“The current basketball community in India is very passionate about the sport and committed to seeing it grow,” Justice continues, “People are willing to engage and help us. The coaches, players, are all enthusiastic about learning and maximising their opportunities.”

But there are trials and tribulations to working with a country like India – a country which is so rich and yet so poor, so fat and yet so hungry, with the most modern of technological infrastructures but in many ways still living in the 18th century. India presents a bizarre gamut of variety every day, something that is as much a challenge as it is an opportunity.

Despite steady growth, Justice admits that the biggest challenge for the NBA in India right now is still the infrastructure. “There are hardly any good indoor basketball courts in the country, and because get so hot here, we can’t hold games or clinics in the afternoons in the outdoors,” he says. It is a simple yet important point – for the players to play and train more, they need to play in better, indoor, cooler facilities. The NBA has lent a hand in improving infrastructure in India over the past two years: four new courts have been refurbished through the NBA-Cares programme.

The other issue which Justice calls more “manageable” is of scale. A famous Indian saying to describe the country’s massive size as “From Kashmir to Kanyakumari”, alluding to the more than three thousand kilometres from the northernmost to the southernmost point of the nation. “The number of participants is large and we have a lot of ground to cover!”

Justice believes that to eventually cover this ground and to be able to truly make a difference, the NBA’s relationship with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will be extremely important. “We will need to work alongside them, and work alongside the coaches and managers in India. We are bringing our own information and expertise to the Indian coaches, and it will help if they continue to receive us with an open-mind.”

For the future, the NBA hope to continue the development of the Mahindra Challenge, which in 5-10 years, they see as an initiative that could grow drastically across the country. “We want to make this programme the best that it can be,” said Justice, “I want to see more and more coaching clinics and player training camps around India.”

Off the court, the NBA will be marketing itself, and thus, promoting the game of basketball in various ways. Keeping up with their reputation as being one of the forerunners in promotion through social media, the NBA introduced the NBA-India website several months ago along with the fast-growing NBA-India fan page on Facebook.

Justice knows that fan interest will follow if the NBA can send marquee players such as legends of the game and current all stars to India. Over the past few years, Baron Davis, Dominique Wilkins, Sam Perkins, Kyle Korver, Ronny Turiaf, Linton Johnson, Pat Garrity, AC Green, Dikembe Mutumbo, and Kevin Garnett have visited the country, and Justice hopes that the visits continue.

Another dream of any fan would be to actually see an NBA exhibition game in India. Asia is no stranger to NBA pre-season action. The NBA has played six games in Japan since the 1990s, and has held pre-season games in China since 2004, after Chinese star Yao Ming joined the Houston Rockets in 2002: the first game obviously featured the Yao-powered Rockets against the Kings. In 2009, when the Nuggets met the Pacers in Taipei, it became the eight Asian city to host either an NBA regular season or preseason game, along with Tokyo, Yokohama, and Saitama in Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China; and Macau.

But what do these countries have that India doesn’t? You guessed it… Infrastructure! “We would love to hold an exhibition game here,” said Justice, “But these are big events, and they require proper venue and timing – infrastructure is a key component and is still a challenge in India.”

The NBA have a long-term plan in India, and as infrastructure grows, exposure, popularity, and participation increases, and the country has more coaches equipped to teach the game to players from elementary school to pros, Justice believes that basketball can truly become the #2 sport here. It will obviously be a fool’s ambition to even pretend that the game has any chance against the maniacal popularity of cricket, but if basketball is able to gain a small percentage niche following in the country, that small percentage of a country of 1.2 billion can make a huge difference.

“In the future, I see the Indian national team definitely improving in the FIBA rankings,” said Justice. Currently, the Indian Men’s team, dubbed ‘Young Cagers’, lie 52nd in the FIBA world rankings and the Women rank 43rd – nothing to shout out loud from Himalayan mountaintops, but Justice believes that the potential is there. “In the future, I can envision top level Indian players playing in foreign pro leagues.”

Ultimately, the question that all Indian fans want answered is how soon the country can have our own NBA-inspired all-India basketball league. When I interviewed BFI’s secretary general Harish Sharma, he told me that India could potentially have a full professional league in two-three years. Justice added that the NBA will be doing everything it can to support the BFI’s plans.

“I have been well received in India – I love the heart of the Indian people who have gracious, humble and hospitable,” said Justice, “Now that I’m living and working here, this country has been everything I expected and more. It is very rewarding to go to work daily and give to the basketball community in India.”

“I can’t wait to see the day when the sounds of bouncing basketballs echoes all over the country.”

As we ended our conversation, I remembered something – India, its people, its variety, its culture, and its passion are damn near impossible to replicate. I’m not going to pretend and ignore the corruption and the mismanagement and the passiveness that plagues the mentalities of many of my fellow Indians, but eventually, there is a faint light at the end of the tunnel. Just like Justice and NBA have discovered, the country can offer as much to the game as the game can offer the country. Basketball is the fastest-growing sport in the world, and India is perfect platform for the game’s next big spurt.

So does India need basketball? There may not be an easy response to that particular question, but I know one thing for sure - basketball needs India.

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