MUMBAI: The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced here Thursday that the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings will play in two preseason games in Mumbai in 2019, marking the first games the NBA has played in this market and the first games staged in the country by a North American sports league.
The NBA India Games 2019 will take place Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5 at the NSCI Dome in Worli.
The announcement was made here by NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco.
In addition to the games, the league and its partners will conduct interactive fan activities, Jr. NBA youth basketball programming and NBA Cares community outreach events that will bring the NBA experience to fans in Mumbai. The NBA India Games 2019 will be produced by BookMyShow and AEG and supported by a roster of marketing and merchandising partners. The games will air live in India, and will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories on television, digital and social media.
The Kings, under the leadership of the NBA’s first Indian-born majority owner and Mumbai-native Vivek Ranadivé, currently features 2018 No. 2 overall draft pick Marvin Bagley III, 2017 No. 5 overall draft pick De’Aaron Fox and 2016 No. 6 overall draft pick Buddy Hield (Bahamas). The Pacers’ roster currently features 2018 NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo, 2016 NBA All-Rookie second team member Myles Turner and 2016 No. 11 overall draft pick Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania).
NBA commissioner Adam Silver commented: “Our inaugural NBA India Games will help further untap the enormous basketball potential in a country with a thriving sports culture and a growing, young and engaged population. We thank the Kings and Pacers organizations for participating in this historic event.”
Colaco opined: “We are proud to be the first global sports league to bring games of this scale to India. The NBA and basketball have never been more popular in India, and fans will get to enjoy world-class showcases for our sport between two exciting teams in the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers.”
Sacramento Kings owner and chairman Vivek Ranadivé added: “The Sacramento Kings are proud to be playing in the first NBA games ever held in India. As an Indian-American, it is an honor to help bring this historic moment to the country where I was raised. The sport is experiencing tremendous growth in India and we are excited about continuing to expand the NBA’s reach to fans across the globe. The world wants to watch basketball and India is a fast-growing new frontier.”
Indiana Pacers owner Herbert Simon noted: “We are thrilled to be one of the first two teams to play the first-ever game in India and proud to be part of the expanding NBA worldwide footprint of our game of basketball.”
Said BookMyShow CEO and founder Ashish Hemrajani: “We are pleased to partner with the NBA to bring an unmatched international basketball experience for sports enthusiasts in India. Basketball continues to gain in popularity in India, and institutions including school and colleges are investing in improving the sport’s infrastructure. This association not only marks an addition of a phenomenal world-class experience to BookMyShow’s array of offerings but also strengthens our leadership position as we continue to tread on the path of bringing the best out-of-home experiences for our users.”
AEG Asia president and CEO Adam Wilkes stated: “We are thrilled to join the NBA and Book My Show to assist with these historic NBA games in India between the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings. In a country known for its passionate sports fans, Mumbai needs to prepare for the amazing experience of NBA basketball.”
Tickets to the games will go on sale at a later date.
