NBA India's Managing Director Yannick Colaco to step down from his position

For the past handful of years, the NBA's brand has grown in India exponentially and in a variety of players, like an uber-talented offensive player finding a myriad of ways to land the ball in the basket. The league has expanded its relationship with domestic partners, grown the grassroots programmes, reached out to more fans than ever through TV and social media, welcomed more NBA stars to our shores, and this year, announced the first ever NBA preseason game in India.

While the league's logo has been in the forefront of this growth, the man in the backgrounds helping to manage the league's India office was Yannick Colaco. Now, after six years as the Managing Director and Vice-President of NBA India, Colaco will step down from his position.

Colaco was hired for his current role in February 2013. NBA VP of global business operations Diane Gotua will relocate from New York to the NBA’s Mumbai office to lead the business in India on an interim basis and oversee the search for a new managing director.

"The NBA’s popularity and business in India have seen significant growth under Yannick’s leadership over the past six years," said Mark Tatum, the Deputy Commissioner of the NBA. "We thank Yannick for his contributions during his tenure as Managing Director and are grateful to have Diane assist with the transition."

"I am extremely thankful to have played a part in the growth of the NBA in India," Colaco said. "From broadening the distribution of our games to our plan to bring the live game experience to fans, the NBA’s business in India has never been better. It has been incredible living and breathing the NBA everyday over the past six years, and I look forward to applying my NBA experience as I move onto my next professional challenge."

Colaco spearheaded several programmes to help the NBA grow in India, including the formation of the NBA's partnership with Reliance Foundation for their grassroots basketball training programme, the launch of the NBA India Academy in Greater Noida, the increase in live NBA games on Indian TV (with introduction of Hindi commentary too), the growth of India's retail presence through NBAStore.in, partnering with fantasy sports website Dream11, and much more.

While his tenure will leave a positive legacy for the NBA in India, his departure does come at an inopportune time, with the NBA preparing for the first-ever NBA India Games featuring the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers this October. Hopefully, the transition to new leadership is smooth to oversee the Games and the NBA's next major steps in the Indian market.