Next Big NBA Market: India?

Posted Jul 13, 2008 11:14AM By Tom Ziller (RSS feed)

Filed Under: NBA Fans

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With the NBA's overwhelming success in capturing a giant slice of the giant Chinese market -- thanks to Yao Ming, of course -- Sam Dolnick of the Associated Press looks into the league's steps toward elbowing into another major Asian market: India.

Dolnick reports that, along with the lack of an Indian Yao, the major obstacle is basketball infrastructure -- courts and coaches ... basically the opposite case as in the United States, where basketball has long been the preferred game of the urban city due to limited equipment and space requirements.

Right now, basketball is the sport of the rich in India.

"My students, they go to U.S., Europe, and there they have so much of a basketball culture," said Deepak Shukla, who coaches a basketball team at an exclusive New Delhi school. "They have Shaquille O'Neal shoes they get from U.S. ... My students are from (wealthy) families."

"The poor people will play cricket," he said. Basketball "requires great infrastructure and money."

At this point, the NBA's outreach seems limited to a few Basketball Without Borders program visits in New Delhi. (Ronny Turiaf and Kyle Korver visited this summer; Kevin Garnett attended in 2006.) It might be a big gamble to invest a ton of money in nascent professional or semi-pro leagues in the subcontinent, but the NBA has long taken big gambles in major international markets. Bolstered by success in China, it wouldn't be surprising to see the league go full-bore into India.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-13-2008 @ 1:34PM

murph said...

"The poor people will play cricket," he said. Basketball "requires great infrastructure and money."

yea thats why its so popular in the inner cities here. "the rich" .. this story makes me ill. the NBA and David “Shyster” Stern could spend this money in our own inner cities on the kids who’s school cant afford shoes and uniforms or on summer kids leagues in those same cities where the NBA makes Billions! Give back something to those kids who cant afford to go to an NBA game David.. if they can talk about doing this in India proves what ever they are doing here isn’t enough

7-13-2008 @ 4:32PM

Orange Chuck said...

I got a great idea. The WWE has wrester from India naked the Great Khali who is a 7 footer and was the tall guy in that Adam Sandler/Chris Rock remake of Longest Yard. Why not sign him to a NBA deal? He won't be the first 7 footer with no talent in the NBA's history. Or maybe incorporate some Bali style music and dances with the cheerleaders?

7-14-2008 @ 7:22PM

sgt.pepper said...

To orange chuck that's a good idea Khali is tall enough but if he gets mad at the ref over a call he doesn't like would you want he to squeeze the refs head like he does in the ring?