Seven-time NBA champ Robert Horry will return to India to celebrate start of new NBA season

Robert Horry has been basketball's ultimate good-luck charm. Here's a player with no All Star appearances, no All NBA teams, no major individual accolades except for an All Rookie Second Team in his first NBA season. And yet, by the time he retired from basketball 16 years later, he had etched his name as one of the greatest winners in NBA history. Horry won championships almost everywhere he went and ended up with a total of seven titles, more than any player in history that didn't play in the heralded 50s/60s Boston Celtics. More than Jordan, Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Duncan, or Shaq.

And now, the big man known as "Mr Big Shot" will visit India - for the second time - to mark the start of another NBA season.

The NBA announced on Friday that Horry will visit India next week, from October 19, to celebrate the 2018-19 NBA season tip-off with fans and engage with the country’s top prospects at The NBA Academy India.

Horry will first stop in New Delhi on Oct. 19, where he will train with the 24 full-time prospects at NBA Academy India in Greater Noida. He will then make live television appearances on Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 3’s NBA wraparound shows on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 respectively in Mumbai to discuss the upcoming NBA season.

Horry's first trip to India was back in September 2012, where he was the featured guest for the launch of the NBA 3x3 season in the Delhi-NCR region.

"I’m excited to return to India to work with some of the most promising talent the country has to offer and celebrate what will certainly be an electrifying NBA season," said Horry. "I understand the game has made huge strides since my last visit to India in 2012, and I can’t wait to see this for myself."

Horry, a 6-9 power forward was the definition of a modern "stretch 4" before it became a commonplace thing in the league. He was drafted by the Rockets in 1992 and won the 1994 and 1995 titles in Houston. He played one season for the Phoenix Suns and then ended up in the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won a threepeat (2000-02). Horry's last stand was with the San Antonio Spurs, where he added two more titles to his tally (2005, 2007) before retiring in 2008. During the course of his career, he played alongside some of the NBA's greatest-ever players, including Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan.

NBA Jam 2014 to be held across a remarkable 16 Indian cities!

NBA Jam - the hugely popular college basketball and youth festival - will return to India in its biggest iteration yet for 2014. This year, NBA Jam is going to be held across a remarkable 16 Indian cities, truly spanning the length and breath of India and involving a greater number of young Indian basketball fanatics than ever before.

Held between August 18 - December 4 this year, NBA Jam is set to be held in 16 cities in India: Chennai, Guwahati, Cochin, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, New Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Hyderabad, and Pune. For the first time, Indian ballers from beyond just the Tier 1 cities will be connected. Nationally, the hoops festival will involve more than 650 colleges and 3200 teams. Apart from 3x3 basketball in each city, the NBA Jam will also feature music and entertainment competitions like graffiti, DJ-spin off, B-boy dancing, and more.

This year's NBA Jam is a huge step up from last year's event, which involved just four cities and relatively far fewer teams. The 2013 edition of NBA Jam concluded in Mumbai by the end of last September, as national champions were crowned from squads that won their city-level championships going off against each other. Three former NBA legends - Robert Horry, Peja Stojakovic, and Ron Harper - attended the finale in Mumbai last year.

This year's NBA Jam is being sponsored by Jabong, who will also invite some of the lucky participants to earn internships with the company. Like last year, the crucial events and the finals of the tournament will be broadcast on Sony SIX.

To sign up your college/university team, head to Jabong.com and pick the city where you will be participating from. In addition to the news and schedule of your chosen city, the full schedule of all the NBA Jam events across the next three months in India is also listed on the website.

NBA Launches 1st ever 3x3 Tournament in India

NBA-India Press Release - The National Basketball Association (NBA) today launched the first-ever NBA 3x Presented By Sprite in India at The Great India Place Mall. The free interactive event combines basketball and entertainment to bring an unprecedented NBA experience to fans in Noida and Delhi. NBA 3x will be held in four cities from September 15-October 21. The event will visit Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai.

Seven-time NBA Champion Robert Horry and the Golden State Warriors dance team, the Warrior Girls, tipped off the event today. Horry played 16 seasons in the NBA for four teams. His seven championships are the most of any player not to have played on the 1960’s Boston Celtics.

The opening day also included a performance by hip hop and Bollywood artist Hard Kaur.

NBA 3x features the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament ever staged in India with 400 teams expected to participate; performances from top musical artists or well-known DJ each day; and a variety of on and off the court activities for fans.

The 3-on-3 tournament will have two age divisions: 16-18 and 18-23. The winners in each city will be flown to Mumbai to compete in a National Championship on October 21. The National Champions in each division will qualify to participate in a 2013 FIBA/NBA Asia 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

NBA 3x brings authentic NBA-style entertainment to fans in India. Fans will be able to participate in a variety of free contests and activities with the chance to win NBA merchandise. They can participate in basketball clinics, play NBA video games, measure themselves against cut-outs of NBA players. Fans present today also got a chance to interact with Horry and the Warrior Girls.

Supporting NBA 3x, Sprite will send two participants from the national champion team in the 18-23 division to NBA All-Star 2013. These two participants may get a chance to be part of the global pool of players from which NBA All-Stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James will select to be part of the Sprite Team Sudden and Team Intense competition during NBA-All Star 2013. In addition, the first Sprite Basket Blast 2012 will also be taking place in select cinemas across select cities in India from September through October.

Fans can purchase a Sprite Combo at participating cinemas to enter a lucky draw to get a chance to travel to NBA All-Star 2013. Four Winners will be selected and win trips to All-Star.

“We are excited to tip off NBA 3X presented by Sprite in Delhi with the help of seven-time NBA Champion Robert Horry. The event combines NBA-style entertainment, 3-on-3 basketball, and music to engage youth and build our fan base in India,” said NBA India Senior Director of Development Akash Jain. “This is the largest fan programme we have ever hosted in India and the wide range of basketball and lifestyle elements will provide memorable experiences for our fans.”

Here is the schedule for NBA 3x Presented By Sprite:

Schedule

• Delhi NCR: September 15-16
• Hyderabad: September 22-23
• Chennai: October 13-14
• Mumbai: October 20-21

David Stern discusses the future of NBA in India

The NBA has grown steadily in India, but there is still a long way to go. NBA Commissioner David Stern spoke about the league’s desire to increase its brand in India, including talks of a Hindi-English NBA website, more television agreements, more NBA tournaments, and potentially, a basketball league in India that bears the NBA name.

Click here to read full feature

Robert Horry is coming to India

If Robert Horry lands into India in mid-September wearing all of his championship rings, he could really leave our jyotishs in a tizzy. You know, those bogus astrologers who make people buy rings and gemstones for good luck? Well, Horry flipped the script on that theory. His good luck brought him the rings. The winner of 7 NBA championships will be the featured guest in the Delhi NCR region for the launch of the NBA 3x3 tournaments on September 15-16, 2012.

Click here to read full feature

NBA Launches 3x3 Tournaments in India

The NBA has announced 3x3 tournaments in four regions across India – Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai – in the U18 and the over-18 section. The winners of the tournaments will get a chance to play in the National Championship in India, and the Indian National Champions will get an opportunity to represent the country at the 2013 FIBA/NBA Asia 3x3 event. The winners will also get a chance to win a trip to the 2013 NBA All Star Weekend in Houston!

Click here to read full post