MUMBAI: As the National Basketball Association plans its first pre-season games in India, NBA’s vice-president of gobal marketing partnerships Diane Gotua asserts that India is a priority market but is well aware that the league will see a surge in popularity in the country once an Indian player makes it to the NBA.
Gotua, who has been overseeing NBA operations in India on an interim basis since the departure of Yannick Colaco as NBA India managing director in March, is currently in the process of “handing over charge” to Rajesh Sethi, who was appointed NBA India MD only last week.
Sethi, who reports in to NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum, has been given the mandate to oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in the country and will be supported by the region’s senior leadership team.
The NBA India Games 2019, which will feature the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers playing two preseason games Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5 at the Dome, NSCI, SVP Stadium in Mumbai, will mark the first games that teams from a North American sports league have played in India.
“We are really excited about the India games. It’s a huge deal for us and the fact that the tickets of October 5 game were sold out on the very day of opening of the ticket sales, was a great sign,” Gotua told Economic Times.
“We have a mix of global and local partners already for the India games, which is very encouraging. We have long-term plans to bring authentic NBA experience to India, and though it took a long time, this is just the starting,” said Gotua, who will be in the Maximum City for the games.
Gotua, who since taking charge in March has garnered a first-hand understanding of NBA’s India business, believes that local heroes are the key for the growth of basketball, and for that to happen NBA needs to find a player from India. “That will give Indian fans a reason to root for. That will also help us to increase our relevance in India,” she told ET.
It is well documented that the NBA really took off in China after Yao Ming was picked to play for the Houston Rockets back in 2002. He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. At the time of his final season in 2010-11, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). He is the only player from outside the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star votes.
For the record, the NBA has been organising pre-season games in China since 2012.
