The upcoming franchise-based National Star Basketball League (NSBL), the launch of which was announced end-June by the Basketball Federation of India, will debut after the Indian Premier League 2025 is done and dusted with ten teams competing, BFI president Aadhav Arjuna has confirmed to SportzPower.
“The NSBL will launch after the IPL as a ten team league,” Arjuna told SportzPower on the sidelines of a media briefing last Thursday announcing the launch of the ACG Jr. NBA program, a nationwide 3×3 tournament for the top U-14 players across India and the largest school-based basketball program in the country.
It was on June 29th that the BFI announced the conclusion of the bidding process to finalise the organising partner for NSBL after the financials of the bids were opened.
The NSBL was then introduced as the new top-tier basketball league in India. The BFI had announced the inception of two national-level leagues, namely, the National Star Basketball 3 x 3 League (men & women) and the National Star Basketball 5 x 5 League (men & women).
The Letter of Award (LoA) for commercial rights to NSBL was given to ACG Sports Private Limited at a price of Rs 20.6 crore ($2.5 million) annually on 5×5 league and Rs 10.3cr ($1.2m) annually on 3×3 league for the next seven years. This totes up to Rs 216.3cr ($25.78m) over seven years.
For the record, ACG Sports is the sports subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered multinational pharmaceutical company ACG Group.
Commenting on the development, Arjuna had stated via BFI’s official Instagram account: “I am thrilled to announce the commencement of an exciting new chapter in Indian basketball history – the establishment of the National Star Basketball League by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). As the President of BFI, it brings me immense pride to introduce this groundbreaking initiative that aims to revolutionize the landscape of basketball in our country,” .
He wrote, “With immense pride and excitement, I am delighted to announce the launch of the National Star Basketball League, an initiative that marks a significant milestone and a massive leap forward in the history of Indian basketball. As the President of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), I am thrilled to introduce this groundbreaking endeavour, which represents a big step towards revolutionizing the basketball landscape in our nation.”
