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Basketball in India

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Basketball in India
Basketball being played in Dharamsala, India
CountryIndia
Governing bodyBasketball Federation of India
National team(s)India

In India, basketball is a popular sport, with a multi-tiered professional club league system, as well as men's and women's national teams and also an international team. Indian basketball team made significant improvements starting from 2015 and is now one of the emerging top teams of the game with a FIBA ranking 82.

History

Layup in basketball
Basketball in India Manipal University Jaipur

In India, the game of basketball started its journey in 1930 when it was played for the first time. The first Indian National Championship for men was conducted in 1934 in New Delhi. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI), which controls the game in India was formed in 1950. Throughout history, Indians learned to appreciate the game because of its fast scoring and intense activity from the beginning until the end.

Nowadays, it is considered one of the most widely played sports in India. India is one of those first few countries in the history of basketball that adopted the game within a few years of its inception and its teams actually consisted of five players on the court.

Basketball in India today

Basketball in India is played in most of the high schools, colleges and universities. There is considerable patronage for the game among the younger generation. Basketball in India is played by both men and women of all ages and ability. Many government institutions have professional basketball teams who play for them. For example, ONGC in Uttarakhand, Indian Overseas Bank in Tamil Nadu, Indian Bank in Karnataka, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited in New Delhi, Indian Railways, and Kerala State Electricity Board in Trivandrum play for their respective institution and state.

There are many championships for senior, junior, and youth levels for boys and girls.[1] Invitational all-India tournaments like Master Prithvinath Memorial, Don Bosco Invitational Tournament, Kiloi Invitational Tournament, Ramu Memorial and many other are being organised every year. Indian basketball has championships throughout the year for different age groups. Championship for youth are mainly organised between April to July when children are having summer break from school.

Being one of the earliest countries to adopt basketball, India has so far produced numerous talented basketball players, who have earned recognition in the international arena. Indian basketball players have also won several trophies for their country. Basketball in India is mainly being run and managed by a large number of national and state level associations, spread all over India. These basketball associations are working with a common view of popularising the game in all parts of the country. Apart from that, developing the overall infrastructure for the game and uncovering new talent from the grass route level are some of the other principal objectives of the Indian basketball associations.

India's first ever professional basketball league UBA was started in 2015. UBA completed 4 seasons in India.

Basketball Federation of India

Main article: Basketball Federation of India

The Basketball Federation of India is the official governing body of basketball in India. It follows FIBA rules for organizing basketball championships. It is affiliated to FIBA, FIBA Asia and IOA. It was established in 1950.[2]

National teams

Senior

Men's Senior

Women's senior

Age group

Boys'

Girls'

Professional leagues

India created its first professional basketball league, titled Universal Basketball Alliance (UBA), in 2015.[3] The first winner of the UBA was the Chennai Slam team.[4] The tournament was folded in 2017 after it completed its 4th season and in 2022 the league was replaced with Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL).

The National Basketball Championship is national level basketball tournament for both men's and women's, organised by the Basketball Federation of India, governing body of basketball in India. The competition is contested among the regional state teams affiliated under Basketball Federation of India.

3x3 Pro Basketball League (also known as 3BL India) is men's and women's professional 3x3 basketball leagues in India recognized by the FIBA and also by Basketball Federation of India.[5][6]

The Indian National Basketball League (INBL) is the open-entry 3x3 basketball league in India, organized and run by the Basketball Federation of India.[7]

List of major basketball tournaments in India

  1. UBA 2015-2017
  2. Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL)
  3. INBL
  4. National Basketball Championship (men), National Basketball Championship (women)
  5. ISBL/ICBL (Indian School Basketball League and Indian College Basketball League)
  1. 3BL
  2. INBL

International support and influence

NBA in India

The National Basketball Association has realized the immense potential of the sport in this large and growing market, and is working hard with the Basketball Federation of India to expand the popularity of the sport.

2008

Late in 2008, NBA great, Robert Parish, came to India as part of the NBA/WNBA Hoop School Program. This relationship further expanded into a cultural exchange, which saw Bollywood superstars Lara Dutta and Dino Morea make a trip to watch the Los Angeles Lakers in action, and on April 8, 2009, saw the NBA inaugurate a refurbished basketball court in a suburb in Mumbai.[8]

2015

In April 2015, Sim Bhullar (born December 2, 1992), a Canadian of Indian descent, made his professional debut in the NBA.[9] He became the first player of Indian descent[10] to play in the NBA. Two months later, Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian to ever be selected in the NBA by being the 52nd pick in the 2015 NBA draft for the Dallas Mavericks.[11] He'd also been the first player to be drafted as a high school postgraduate since 2005.

2017

In April 2017, India on track (IOT) collaborated with NBA to form NBA Basketball Schools to train kids and teach them to play the NBA way. There are more than 12 centers running around the country from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and many more.

2019

The first ever NBA games in India took place on 4 and 5 October 2019 at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai.[12][13] The NBA India Games 2019 featured two preseason games between the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers, and marked the first time that teams from a North American sports league played in India.[14]

IMG Reliance joint venture

In June 2010, a deal was struck with the BFI and the IMG Reliance joint venture which aims to take Indian basketball to a professional level. The 30-year deal sees IMG Reliance take control of the game launching a league, controlling merchandise, developing infrastructure and other commercial aspects in this new development. The BFI will launch and control school and college leagues with assistance from the IMG. IMG Reliance will also construct academies in India in line with the IMG Florida sports academy. In July, coaches from Florida came to India to select 8 boys and girls between the ages of 13-15 to take to the US on a scholarship. The first batch was selected and is preparing to undertake the scholarship at IMG Florida. More scholarships will be offered with the aim of launching India's first professional league in 4 years. IMG chief Ted Fortsmann and Reliance owner Mukesh Ambani see the IPL as a perfect model to use. Therefore, a franchise system is likely to be put into place.

At the moment, the NBA are not involved with the joint venture but Ted Fortsmann is willing to work with the NBA who already run recreational leagues in India with another leading Indian business, the Mahindra Group. These are set in expand from the initial 3 cities to other parts of India.

One of the first people to have been accepted to the IMG Reliance program, Satnam Singh Bhamara, had also declared to go for the 2015 NBA Draft while coming straight out of the IMG Reliance program as a post-graduate. When Bhamara was selected by the Dallas Mavericks as the 52nd pick of the draft, he would be the first player to have been drafted directly out of high school without any additional international, college, or D-League competition since Amir Johnson back in 2005.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tournaments Archives - Ekalavyas". Ekalavyas.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  2. ^ http://acuver.in/ [not specific enough to verify]
  3. ^ "Universal Basketball Alliance, India Revealed Plans for Season Two of the Pro Basketball League." Web Newswire, Jul 29, 2015.
  4. ^ "Chennai Slam Win Inaugural UBA Pro Basketball League." United News of India, Jul 30, 2015.
  5. ^ Sudevan, Praveen (15 August 2018). "3BL league aims to take Indian basketball to 2020 Olympics but there's a long way to go". Scroll.in.
  6. ^ Matange, Yash (1 April 2020). "ShieldSquare Captcha". Sportskeeda.
  7. ^ Indian National Basketball League from January 4 The Hindu, 18 November 2021. Accessed 23 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Bollywood visits the Lakers". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
  9. ^ "KINGS SIGN SIM BHULLAR TO A 10-DAY CONTRACT". Ekalavyas.com. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  10. ^ "KINGS SIGN CENTER SIM BHULLAR: Becomes the first player of Indian descent to ink an NBA contract". Ekalavyas.com. 16 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  11. ^ "Satnam Singh Bhamara declares for 2015 NBA Draft". Ekalavyas.com. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  12. ^ "May have been a tad early to come to India, says NBA commissioner - Times of India". The Times of India. India. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  13. ^ "NBA India Games 2019: Indiana Pacers defeat Sacramento Kings | News - Times of India Videos". The Times of India. India. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  14. ^ "First-Ever NBA Game in India to Be Played in Front of Youth from Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Program". NBA. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
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