Former NBA champion and Head Coach Brian Shaw is in India this week!

Brian Shaw knows a thing or two about tough journeys. Unsettled in any basketball home, Shaw spent the first 11 years of his career in seven different teams, including a stint in Italy, without making a significant mark or finding his footing. It wasn't until age 33, in his final NBA stop, that Shaw found basketball nirvana. A member of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999-2003, Shaw played a small but pivotal role in the legendary team that won three NBA titles besides Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. His story proved to be one of perseverance, timing, and professionalism: given the right amount of hard work and a little stroke of luck, even the toughest journeys can lead to a fulfilling destination.

This week, Shaw will hope to relay that same mantra to dozens of aspiring young basketball players in India - players who may face seemingly insurmountable odds in their basketball journeys - and give them the inspiration to keep their hoop dreams alive.

To help promote the sport for the NBA, Shaw is scheduled to land in India on Wednesday, February 24, for a five-day visit until February 28. During his trip, he will be tipping off premier NBA events like the ACG-NBA Jump National Finals in Greater Noida, NBA City Finals in Jaipur and NBA Jam in Mumbai. Shaw joins the growing legions of former Laker champions to visit India, including AC Green, Pau Gasol, Robert Horry, Horace Grant, and Ron Harper.

Shaw will make his first stop in Noida on February 24 where he will share personal drills and training techniques with participants of the National Finals of ACG-NBA Jump, India's first national basketball talent search programme. The national finals, from February 22-25 mark the culmination of the five-month programme that took place across six regions including Delhi, Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

From Noida, Shaw will travel to Jaipur on February 26 where he will share tips with students at the St. Edmunds School, as part of the Reliance Foundation Junior NBA programme, a comprehensive youth basketball initiative that applies the values of basketball to positively impact the lives of Indian boys and girls. Shaw will then travel to Mumbai the next day to engage the youth of Mumbai at NBA Jam at the KJ Somaiya College, where fans will have the chance to meet with Shaw, win NBA merchandise, and experience lifestyle elements including interactive games, contests and live music performances. He will conclude his India visit with a live television appearance on Sony SIX's NBA morning show 'Around the Hoop' on February 28.

In his professional playing career that spanned over 14 years, Shaw played for the Boston Celtics (who drafted him), Il Messaggero Roma in Italy, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Portland Trail Blazers, before finally finding his NBA closure with three championships with the Lakers. Shaw became an assistant coach with the Lakers soon after retirement (adding two more championships in 2009-10), served as an assistant coach for the Pacers, and was most recently the Head Coach of the Denver Nuggets from 2013-15.

16 for 16: Here are 16 things to look forward to for Indian basketball in 2016

This feature published in my column for Ekalavyas.com on January 19, 2016. Click here for the original article.

India Men's captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi playing for Uttarakhand against
Delhi during the 2016 Senior National Basketball Championship. Photo Credit:
Ekalavyas.com

Thursday turned into Friday, and apart from that, January 1st, 2016, was hardly any different from December 31st, 2015 for some.

But for so many others, the New Year brings new promise. Like the calm after the storm. The beginning of a new chapter, a new twist to an old story. The new season of your favourite TV show. A clean new page in the notebook. Or the refresh button on your stalled mobile browser.

I fall into the category of optimists that believes the future can always be better than the past, and my brand of optimism spreads out to my outlook of Indian basketball, too. 2015 in Indian hoops was memorable for both the right and the wrong reasons: the big Punjabi Singhs – Satnam, Amjyot, Amrit Pal – took big strides to further their careers as professional players. Meanwhile, the NBA continued to expand its presence in India, while the UBA introduced themselves as new players in the puzzle. India’s international FIBA performances were a mixed bag, but even the positives abroad were overshadowed by drama at home, where the fighting factions of the BFI placed politics ahead of basketball.

1. 2016 Senior Nationals: The race to be India’s best team in Mysore. The Karnataka city hosted close to 50 combined teams in the men and women divisions from all over India at the 66th Senior National Basketball Championship from January 9-16. Chhattisgarh’s women team attempted to complete a three-peat of titles after breaking Indian Railways’ monopoly over the trophy two years ago. In the men’s section, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Services, and hosts Karnataka featured stacked rosters competing for the title. India’s best players were there competing for the nation’s most prestigious domestic title. Hope you made sure your attention was over at Mysore, too, where ultimately Services men (surprise!) and Indian Railways women (no surprises here) claimed the title.

2. Satnam’s exploits in D-League, and possible NBA debut. So Satnam Singh made history in 2015 by becoming the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA. The moment caught the attention of the Indian basketball family and fans like never before. But being drafted into the NBA is not the same as actually ‘making’ the NBA. Satnam is currently on a D-League roster, playing for the Dallas Mavericks D-League affiliate Texas Legends. He has so far played bit minutes for the Legends as he slowly becomes accustomed to the pace of the D-League. Hopefully, the 20-year-old can get further comfortable in the professional basketball life both on and off the court in 2016 and can become a major contributor to the Legends over the next few months. If he can develop into his full potential, could 2016 be the year that an Indian citizen finally plays in the NBA?

3. Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh continue to dominate professional basketball in Japan. One of the bigger headlines in Indian basketball in 2015 was when the starting backcourt of India’s national team – Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh – together headed to Japan to play professionally in the BJ Summer League. Their dominance led them to be signed by Tokyo Excellence of the Japanese D-League, where they have continued their strong performances. The next step is the top BJ League, or perhaps attention from other top division leagues in the world. Amjyot and Amrit Pal certainly have the talent to be top frontcourt options in any team in Asia.

4. Will UBA’s basketball league earn more credibility? They called it the first-ever ‘professional’ basketball league in India, and the Universal Basketball Alliance – UBA India – defiantly continue on, and will return with the second season of the UBA Basketball League. Will they earn more credibility and fans this season? Will more big name players sign up to play?

5. Will we get closer to a BFI-backed, national professional league? The Basketball Federation of India has been mulling over a full-scale national professional league for years. After the success of the ISL (Indian Super League) and other upstart sport leagues around the country, will basketball finally get its big breakthrough? There are now national sports leagues in Cricket, Football, Badminton, Hockey, Wrestling, and Kabaddi… An all-compassing professional basketball league has the potential to truly revolutionize the sport in India.

6. India’s next Senior National Team coaches. In 2015, India basketball waved farewell to both the men’s and women’s Senior National team coaches, Scott Flemming and Francisco Garcia respectively. The two coaches both enjoyed flashes of major success: Flemming led India to a strong showing at the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup, including a victory over China. Garcia helped India to a best-ever fifth place finish at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, but the team fell outside of Level 1 in 2015. While Sat Prakash Yadav coached India at the 2015 FIBA Asia Men’s Championship, there is still no confirmation if he will be Head Coach long term. Will India get foreign coaches for the senior national teams again? Instead of waiting for the summer of 2017 before the next round of FIBA ABCs, we should get the new coaches early and let them create a desired system with enough time to prepare. Who will these new coaches be?

7. Who will emerge as the chosen one from the ACG-NBA Jump? In 2015, NBA India partnered with ACG Worldwide to launch the ACG-NBA Jump programme. After finishing visits in six Indian cities, the programme will choose 32 Indian youngsters between 18-22 for an elite camp in New Delhi. One player will emerge from this camp in the summer of 2016 to win the first season of the ACG-NBA Jump: he will be trained by NBA-affiliated coaches and prepared for a shot at the NBA D-League tryout in mid-2016.

8. A million young players from around the country to take part in the new NBA Jam. A record 24 cities. A million young basketball players. The NBA Jam returned to the Indian basketball calendar in October 2015 and will continue at college campuses around the country into the spring of 2016. It will be interesting to see which NBA players visit India as special guests to promote the NBA Jam and its Finals over the next few months.

9. India need to bounce back from disappointing FIBA Asia U18 finish. Two years ago, at the last FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men in Qatar, India were in shambles. The juniors failed to qualify out of the group stage and finished tied for last place – 13th – at the end of the tournament. The tournament will return once again likely in September 2016 and India’s new crop of young players will have a chance to atone for their fall. Keep an eye out on Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi, the Tamil Nadu forward who starred for India at the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 tournament, to make a jump into the U18 side.

10. Can India’s U18 Women get a big win? In the Women’s FIBA Asia U18 tournament, India have been steady at 6th place: good enough to be grouped with Level 1 teams, but not good enough to beat any of them. Two years ago, India lost all their Level 1 games but won their qualifier against Malaysia to stay in the tournament’s higher stage. It was an overall disappointing performance that didn’t bring India any closer to Asia’s big four: China, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei. Will a new set of young players finally get that big Level 1 victory?

11. Can the FIBA Asia Cup produce wonders again? Asia’s best senior Men’s nations play in the continent’s biggest tournament – the FIBA Asia Championship – in odd years. But in even years, many of those same nations send their (sometimes depleted) squads to the FIBA Asia Cup, formerly known as the Stankovic Cup. In 2014, this tournament became India’s crowning glory, when the team coached by Scott Flemming defeated hosts China in Wuhan and gave India their greatest win in basketball history. India will have a new coach for the senior Men’s NT this year, and it’s unlikely that the same results can be produced again. But hey – the magic of basketball is that anything is possible in those 40 minutes on the hardwood. Is there another wonder up India’s sleeves?

12. Can India continue stellar 3×3 record at Asian Beach Games? While India hasn’t been able to challenge Asia’s best in the full-length version of the game, they are more than adept at the half-court, 3-on-3 edition. India have won gold medals at the Asian 3×3 level in both Men and Women’s divisions over the past few years, and will have a real shot at silverware at the 3×3 basketball tournament at the 5th Asian Beach Games, scheduled in Da Nang (Vietnam) in September-October, 2016. India’s Men’s team will look to get their hands on the gold after a silver medal in 2014, while the Women’s side will hope to bounce back from a dip in their performance two years ago.

13. Will Vivek Ranadive finally bring the Kings to India? Two and a half years ago, Mumbai-born Vivek Ranadive became the first Indian majority-owner of an NBA team, the Sacramento Kings. While the Kings have been a model of dysfunction on court, Ranadive has talked a big game about promoting the team and its stars to Indian-origin and Indian-national fans. Back in 2013, Ranadive even talked about bringing the Kings to an exhibition game in India, but India’s infrastructure has been far from being ready to host an NBA game. Will this be the year that Ranadive’s business and political influence finally push that dream closer and bring India its first-ever NBA (exhibition or otherwise) game? Ranadive has the connections and the free reign as an owner to push for it. His plans to make India the next big basketball market in the world and Kings as India’s ‘favourite team’ will only reach closer to realization if the team itself makes a visit here. I for one will be rooting to see DeMarcus Cousins show his bhangra skills.

14. Time for more mainstream media attention to basketball. In a country where mainstream news means entertainment and entertainment means Bollywood and Cricket, there is little space for coverage of ‘alternative’ stories, like basketball. But over the last two years, two major events – India’s win over China at the FIBA Asia Cup in 2014 and Satnam Singh become the first Indian drafted to the NBA in 2015 – went viral online and captured the imagination of the nation, even among non-fans. Now that the foundation stones have been laid, hopefully the same mainstream media houses that chased the big stories will continue to follow up in the developments in Indian basketball – and not necessarily just the sansani news.

15. A big NBA star to visit India in 2016? Over the last few years, dozens of current and former NBA players have made official or unofficial visits to promote basketball in India, including first Indian-origin player Sim Bhullar, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Bosh, Brandon Jennings, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and more. The NBA in India has created a trend of bringing players as special guests for the NBA Jam or Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programmes. Who will be the next star to visit Indian shores? Will Vivek Ranadive bring DeMarcus Cousins and/or Rajon Rondo? Will Satnam Singh come with his potential Dallas Mavericks teammate Dirk Nowitzki? Will we get one of the big hitters to drive India wild: Kobe, LeBron, Durant, Westbrook, Anthony Davis, etc.? Or will reigning MVP Steph Curry drop in and live up to his name to try India’s finest curries for himself?

16. Team Govindraj vs. Team Mahajan: A new chapter to the saga rotting Indian basketball? Last year, the biggest story in Indian basketball didn’t take place on court. It was a backroom battle between two fighting factions, each staking its claim as the rightful executive committee to run the BFI, Indian basketball’s governing body. On one side stands K Govindraj, leader of the faction that has FIBA approval and is currently running Indian basketball’s events domestically and abroad. On the other side is Poonam Mahajan and Roopam Sharma, the team which is fighting back with the Indian Olympic Committee’s (IOA) support and organizing their own domestic parallel domestic events. In the middle of this conflict are the players and all the others who only want to develop with the sport in the country. The saga took many ugly turns last year and a legal battle beckons ahead. Will things get better before they get worse? Will one inarguable leader or committee rise from the fog? For the sake of the development of Indian basketball, we all certainly hope so.

NBA Jam returns to India for third year - more than a million students.. and Jason Richardson and Satnam Singh!

India's largest interactive youth basketball festival - NBA Jam tipped off its third season on October 28th. The travelling basketball festival will be held in a record 24 Indian cities for the next four months with plans to engage more than a million college students nationwide. India's first NBA draft pick Satnam Singh and former NBA player Jason Richardson will be among the special guests for the programme's tip off this year. You can register your team for the open 3x3 basketball tournament at: www.nbajam.in.

The traveling interactive youth festival will encourage and develop basketball participation across the country. In partnership with Sony SIX, NBA Jam powered by Jabong will provide an authentic basketball experience by combining exciting oncourt competition with lifestyle elements including interactive games, contests and live music performances. Through the strength of its association with college festivals, more than 3,500 teams from more than 1,000 colleges across the country will play in the event’s 3-on-3 tournament. NBA talent, including NBA legends and dunk teams, will travel to select cities to conduct clinics and interact with fans.

"NBA Jam powered by Jabong has grown tremendously over the last three years, and we are excited for its continued expansion as we travel to a record 24 cities this year," said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco. "Along with our partners Jabong and Sony SIX, we are committed to growing the game in India by getting more fans of all ages to experience this unique festival."

Free registration for the 3×3 tournament within NBA Jam powered by Jabong is now open at www.nbajam.in. Registration is available for teams of men and women ages 16-24 who are enrolled in college at the time of the tournament. As the official NBA Jam apparel partner, Jabong will create an NBAStore.in Experience Zone at every NBA Jam venue that will allow fans to browse through the latest NBA merchandise and apparel on display. Fans who shop at these Experience Zones will also receive giveaways from Jabong and discounts for on-the-spot purchases.

Jam Schedule

• October 28-29, 2015 Jalandhar (Lovely Professional University)
  
• October 30-31, 2015 Ahmedabad (MICA)
  
• October 31-1 Nov, 2015 Kanpur (IIT, Kanpur)
  
• November 6-7, 2015 Goa (BITS, Goa)
  
• November 13-14, 2015 Bhubaneshwar (Xavier's Institute of Management)
  
• November 15-16, 2015 Jamshedpur (XLRI)
  
• November 21-22, 2015 Lucknow (IIM, Lucknow)
  
• Coming up
  
• Bhopal
  
• Nagpur
  
• Surat
  
• Coimbatore
  
• Chennai
  
• Guwahati
  
• Bangalore
  
• Kharagpur
  
• Hyderabad
  
• Kolkata
  
• Pune
  
• Kochi
  
• Kozhikode
  
• Delhi
  
• Mumbai

Satnam Singh, the Punjab born 7-footed teen who became the first Indian citizen earlier this year to be drafted into the NBA (by the Dallas Mavericks) has been part of the promotional tour for the NBA Jam and was at the Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar for the programme's tip off yesterday. Additionally, former NBA player and two-time Slam Dunk champion Jason Richardson landed in India on Thursday, October 29th7, to begin a three-day promotional tour of the country for the NBA Jam and the continued growth of basketball in India. Richardson will travel to New Delhi, Ahmedabad (Gujarat), and Mumbai to conduct basketball clinics for players and coaches alike and engage with fans at two of NBA's premier events in India: the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme and NBA Jam.

Richardson will make his first stop in New Delhi on October 29 where he will engage with Ramjas School students as part of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme . Then he will go to Ahmedabad on October 30 to participate in NBA Jam at the MICA Institute where fans will have the chance to meet him. Richardson will then visit Mumbai on October 31 for a live television appearance on Sony Six's NBA morning show 'Around the Hoop'.

"I understand that basketball is growing rapidly in India and I can't wait to experience the excitement firsthand," said Richardson, "It's encouraging to know just how many boys and girls across the country are picking up the sport and I look forward to meeting with some of the promising young talent India has to offer."

The 6-foot-six Richardson was the fifth pick from Michigan State in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. Over the course of his 14-year NBA career, he also played for the Charlotte Bobcats (now Charlotte Hornets), Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers before retiring in 2015. He was named in the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2002 and is a two-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion (2002 and 2003).

Last year's NBA Jam visited 16 cities across India and reached more than 400,000 students.

Two Indian teams to play in FIBA 3x3 World Tour in Beijing

Two Indian Men's teams - representing the cities of Bengaluru and Chandigarh - will be taking part in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Beijing Masters on October 15-16. Each team will feature four players (three starters and a substitute) for this tournament, which will feature a total of 12 3x3 teams competing for the top prize.

'Team Bangalore' is the squad which represented India at the 2015 3x3 South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers in Colombo earlier this month. By securing the gold medal, they were able to qualify for the Beijing Masters. Despite their nomenclature, the team consists of players from several other states/cities of India outside of Bengaluru.

'Team Chandigarh' is the squad which appeared as 'Punjab Warriors' at the 2014 NBA Jam, and their victory in the National Finals in Pune last December booked their ticket to the Beijing Masters.

The 12 teams are divided into four pools of three teams playing in a round-robin first round against their two respective pool opponents. The top-two placed teams from each pool advance to a standard knock-out round which starts at the quarter-finals stage. The two best teams qualify for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final, which will be staged in Abu Dhabi on 15-16 October 2015. Apart from this main event, a dunk contest and a three-point shootout contest will also be held. Read more here.

FIBA 3x3 World Tour Beijing Masters Participating Teams

• Pool A: Novisad Alwahda (UAE), Zheng Zhou (China), Bangalore (India).
  
• Pool B: Ljubljana (Slovenia), New Taipei (Chinese Taipei), Jinan (China).
  
• Pool C: Doha (Qatar), Jakarta (Indonesia), Beijing (China).
  
• Pool D: Tokyo (Japan), Wukesong (China), Chandigarh (India).
  

India team rosters

• Team Bangalore: Basil Philip (Kerala), Rajesh Uppar (Karnataka), Siddhant Shinde (Maharashtra), Jeevanantham Pandi (Tamil Nadu).
  
• Team Chandigarh: Khusmeet Atwal, Arshpreet Bhullar, Arshdeep Dhillon, Rajveer Singh.
  

Schedule for India’s league games 15th August (all timings IST)

• 2:40 PM: Chandigarh vs Tokyo (Pool D).
  
• 3 PM: Bangalore vs Zheng Zhou (Pool A).
  
• 4 PM: Bangalore vs Novisad Alwahda (Pool A).
  
• 6 PM: Chandigarh vs Wukesong (Pool D).
  

The FIBA 3x3 World Tour was first launched in 2012. The former winners are San Juan (Puerto Rico, 2012), Brezovica (Slovenia, 2013) and Novi Sad (Serbia, 2014).

2014: The Year in Indian Basketball

Flip the calendars and adjust your dates. It's now 2015, and so much has changed in Indian Basketball in the past 12 months. Peaking with India's memorable victory against China mid-way through 2014 as well as other positive international performances, you could say that it was the year that basketball in the country truly began to grow up. Domestically, Indian basketball players were involved in bigger and better BFI, NBA, and Reliance Foundation events, events that reached to farther corners of the nation than ever before.

Let's look back at some of the biggest news stories from 2014 in Indian Basketball.

- In January over in Ahmedabad, ONGC repeated as Federation Cup champions with a big win over rivals IOB in the final, while Chhattisgarh's Women's side closed out the tournament in thrilling fashion with a one-point win over Maharashtra. Chhattisgarh's Radhakrishnan and ONGC's Vishesh Bhriguvanshi were named tournament MVPs.

- Just a few days later, Kolkata's outfit Eastern Railway capitalized their unexpected run with a final victory over Assumption College (Changanacherry) to win the 5th JCI All India Invitational Basketball Tournament, held in Athirampuzha in Kottayam district, Kerala. In the Men's Final that followed, Bangalore's outfit Vijaya Bank blew out Customs (Chennai) for a resounding victory.

- ONGC were back atop the podium the next week, defeating IOB once again in Mumbai to win the 9th Savio Cup in Mumbai. Although they started as favourites to hold on to their title, Southern Railway had to battle till the very end and use every bit of their talent and experience to outlast the spirited hosts Maharashtra in the Women's final.

- Goa played host to the 2014 Lusofonia Games, and Indian Basketball Men's team gave the home fans a real reason to celebrate. Under Head Coach Scott Flemming, India defeated Angola in thrilling fashion to win gold at the Games' basketball tournament. They were undefeated through the course of the tournament. India's Women's team - comprising mostly of under-21 players - finished with a bronze medal. Mozambique won Women's gold.

- Former NBA point guard Muggsy Bogues returned to India for his second trip in the first week of February. Bogues took part to assist the first season of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme in the country: he visited Mumbai and Kochi to train the hundreds of players and coaches involved in the events.

- February also offered some sobering news as basketball was de-registered as a sport in Jammu and Kashmir by the Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council (JKSSC), ending all funding for the sport in the state.

- The 64th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women was delayed in 2014 and finally tipped off near the end of February in New Delhi. The delay wasn't the only anomaly: Chhattisgarh's Women ended a 10-year dominating run by Indian Railways at the Senior Nationals by defeating the pre-tournament favourites in the finals to snatch the winner's trophy. Meanwhile in the Men's section, Tamil Nadu's played some brilliant basketball through the course of the tournament and defeated Punjab to secure gold. Tamil Nadu's Rikin Pethani and Chhattisgarh's Kavita Kumari were given the Harish Sharma Most Valuable Player trophies at the end of the tournament, an award named in honour of the BFI's former CEO who passed away two years ago. Former NBA Head Coach Del Harris was a special guest at the nationals and held a 'Train the Trainers' clinic for attending and local coaches and players.

- In mid-April, ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) defended their titles at 2014 Advani Memorial Basketball Tournament in Jaipur (Rajasthan). Southern Railway's Kokila Subramani (Women) and ONGC's Amrit Pal Singh (Men) were named MVPs.

- After six months of action in eight cities, the finals of the 1st BFI-IMG Reliance National School/College League were held over five days in early May in New Delhi. Teams from Ludhiana and Chennai made their home cities proud with championship medals.

- In mid-May, India's Men's National Team took care of business at the 3rd South Asian Basketball Championship in Kathmandu (Nepal) dismantling four South Asian winners in efficient victories and qualifying for the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan (China).

Photo courtesy: Ekalavyas

- The 64th Junior National Basketball Championship for Under-18 Boys and Girls - held at Kochi (Kerala) from May 26th to June 2nd - came down to a double rematch in both the divisions from last year's Finals. Chhattisgarh defended the girls' title with a second consecutive Final victory over hosts Kerala. Punjab's Boys redeemed themselves after last year's loss in Cuttack to snatch the title over Delhi with a win in the Boys' finale. Punjab's Arshpreet Singh (Boys) and Chhattisgarh's Sharanjeet Kaur (Girls) were named MVPs.

- NBA point guard Isaiah Thomas - who was with the Sacramento Kings until the summer and is now with the Phoenix Suns - visited India in June 2014. Thomas spent time in Mumbai and Chennai, where he visited schools, community organizations, and conducted youth clinics. He also joined the NBA's official broadcaster in India Sony SIX to provide analysis of the NBA Finals.

- Three Indian players - Vishal Gupta (Andhra Pradesh), Ashish Briggs (Madhya Pradesh), and Mahipal Singh (Rajasthan) - were invited to NBA/FIBA's Basketball Without Borders camp in Taipei from June 13-16. There were among 50 of the top young players from Asia and Oceania at the camp.

- By defeating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on consecutive nights in July at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, India's U18 men's squad won gold at the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers for the 23rd U18 FIBA Asia Championship. They qualified to represent South Asia at the U18 FIBA Asia tournament in Doha (Qatar).

- The highlight of 2014 - and really, one of the All Time highlights in Indian basketball history - was India's campaign at the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan. In their second game of the tournament India defeated hosts and Asia's top squad China on their home soil, 65-58, in the 'Wonder of Wuhan'. India gave a scare to the continent's other top teams, and despite the Quarter-Final exit and just a seventh place finish, Flemming's team displayed performances on court that are sure to earn them respect in major Asian tournaments in the future. Iran eventually recaptured gold the gold by defeating Chinese Taipei in the final. The tournament was also notable for the flare-up of the nasty FIBA Headgear controversy, hurting India's Sikh star players Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh.

- Back home, former Portuguese basketball coach, general manager, television analyst, and ambassador Carlos Barroca was chosen to replace Troy Justice as the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India.

- India's junior boys' squad disappointed at the 23rd FIBA Asia U18 Championship in Doha (Qatar), finishing 13th (last), losing two of their three Preliminary Round games and failing to qualify for the next stage of the tournament. China played fantastic basketball through the course of the 10-day tournament and made this their 11th gold overall in the tournament. The FIBA Headgear controversy returned, as India's Anmol Singh was forced to remove his turban in the first game against Qatar.

- In mid-August, NBA India launched the biggest ever iteration of the NBA Jam, the hugely popular college basketball and youth festival, spreading out to 16 cities and involving a greater number of young Indian basketball fanatics than ever before.

- On August 29, Indian basketball superstar Geethu Anna Jose added another feather to her cap by being officially conferred the Arjuna Award - prestigious national award handed to sports-persons in India by the Government of India - by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Jose became the 17th basketball player in India to receive this award, but only the first since 2001. She was also only the second women basketball player to win the Arjuna Award since Suman Sharma in 1991.

- With the expectation to engage over 750,000 youth basketball players and train PE teachers at more than 1,000 partner schools across India, the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme returned with a bang for it's second year in early September, expanding from three Indian cities to eight. The programme focus was on inspiring youth to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle by integrating basketball into each participating school’s physical education curriculum.

- There was massive expansion elsewhere, too. By the end of September, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG Reliance announced the new seasons of the Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and the Indian College Basketball League (ICBL), to be held in 22 and 21 Indian cities respectively. Over 1100 institutions and 13,000 combined school or college students - both men and women - were set to participate in the ISBL and ICBL in 24 total cities.

- India's Senior Men's and Women's National teams played at the basketball tournaments at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon (South Korea). Topsy-turvy performances by India saw some positive moments but also left a lot to be desired. India's Men finished 12th (out of 16) and Women finished 6th (out of 11). South Korea defended their home turf in style, as both their Men and Women's squads outperformed higher-ranked squads to secure the gold medal.

- In mid-October, at the 31st Youth (U16) National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu defeated Kerala in both the boys' and girls' finals to win double gold medals. TN's star performers through the course of the tournament - Eshwar PB (Boys) and Ishwarya J (Girls) - were named MVPs.

- With a victory over rivals Japan in the final, the Chinese eves completed a three-peat of titles at the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Amman (Jordan) on Friday, October 17th. This was China's 14th overall title in the 22nd edition of the tournament as they continued to be the driving force in junior Asian women's basketball. India, who played in the tougher Level I of the tournament, lost all their preliminary group games but won the crucial Level I qualifier against Malaysia to remain in the higher fray of the competition for 2016.

- From October 15-19, the city of Bengaluru hosted the inaugural Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball tournament, a men's championship that featured six of India's top club level or state teams. After five days of high-notch basketball, the tournament was settled with a comfortable final win by Indian Overseas Bank - IOB - against their Chennai city rivals ONGC.

- Three-time former NBA champion Bruce Bowen visited India to take part in NBA Jam and Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA events at Kolkata, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, and Ludhiana in early November.

- India's senior men and women took part in the 2014 Asian Beach Games 3x3 Basketball tournament in Phuket (Thailand). After an undefeated run, India's Men were finally defeated in the final by Qatar and had to settle for the silver medal. India's Women - reigning champs from 2012 - could not repeat their success after choosing to send a far less experienced team to Phuket. India lost all three of their games to finish at seventh place.

- Madhya Pradesh (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) lifted the winner's trophies at 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Nashik (Maharashtra), with both teams defeating Chhattisgarh in the final. The MVP awards were handed to Kerala's Sreekala R (Girls) and MP's Mani Thakur (MP).

- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver closed his first year as the head-honcho of the league with his first-ever visit to India, and he brought along Kings' Indian-born owner Vivek Ranadive and former Kings/Lakers player Vlade Divac. Silver, Ranadive, and Divac spent their time in Mumbai, visiting a school as part of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme and interacting with the Indian press.

- 2014 NBA Jam National Finals conclude in Pune on December 7. Punjab Warriors (Boys) and Pune Ballers (Girls) were crowned the national champions.

- Towards the end of December, New Delhi hosted the national finals of the Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and Indian College Basketball League (ICBL), featuring the winning 40 school and college teams in the men's and women's divisions from 10 cities. After seven days of exciting hoops action, the representatives of two cities - Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Ludhiana (Punjab) - separated themselves from the rest of the pack to win their respective 2014 titles.

- On the eve of the launch of the 65th Senior National Championship in Bhilwara (Rajasthan), the BFI named December 28th as the official 'Indian Basketball Day', in honour of the late former BFI CEO Harish Sharma on his birthday. On this day, the best players in the country took part in Men and Women's All Star games and a Slam Dunk contest. Cultural performances, prize distribution, and a remembrance ceremony for Sharma was also held.

It was indeed a year to remember, and India can take heed in successes at the Lusofonia Games, the FIBA Asia Cup, and the Asian Beach Games internationally. Back home, the involvement of new cities in grassroots programmes will play a big role in the future development of basketball talent. The interest shown from FIBA and the NBA, as well as the continuing growth of the BFI, promise bigger things ahead for 2015.

2014 NBA Jam National Finals conclude in Pune

For the past three and a half months, 3x3 basketball events have been brewing across the country, pitting the most competitive college teams against each other at the NBA Jam. After a record 16 cities 'jamming' with the NBA and basketball, the finals of the 2014 NBA Jam - the biggest iteration of NBA India's annual college basketball and youth festival - came to a conclusion with the national finals in Pune on December 7. The winning teams from each city eliminated each other before two champions in the men's and women's division stood at the top of the podium on Sunday at Pune's Ness Wadia College.

Between August 18 to December 4 this year, NBA Jam was held in 16 cities in India: Chennai, Guwahati, Cochin, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, New Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Hyderabad, and Pune. Nationally, the hoops festival involved more than 650 colleges and 3200 teams. Apart from 3x3 basketball in each city, the NBA Jam also featured music and entertainment competitions like graffiti, DJ-spin off, B-boy dancing, and more.

The National Finals were held in Pune with winners from each city form December 5-7. Punjab Warriors (Boys) and Pune Ballers (Girls) were crowned the national champions. Indian VJ/actor and basketball fan Raanvinjay Singha was present to witness the finals and award the winning teams.

NBA Jam, organized by NBA India, was powered by Jabong and held in partnership with Sony SIX. One of the highlights of the NBA Jam was a guest appearance by three-time former NBA champ Bruce Bowen, who visited the tournament's iterations in Kolkata and Chandigarh last month.

Bollywood Showtime: Indian celebrities love the Lakers

If you woke up last night and decided to become an NBA fan, you would be living in a world where Anthony Davis and Marreese Speights were the two best players in the league, the Raptors were the favourites to win the Eastern Conference, and the Lakers were that weird '40-40-40' team (Kobe shoots 40, scores 40, loses by 40). Little would you know that the team in purple-and-gold from Los Angeles are actually one of the most successful franchises in NBA history, winning 16 championships and featuring about half of the NBA's greatest-ever. Five of those championships were collected over the past decade and a half - all partly credited to a certain Kobe Bryant - conveniently during an era when the internet made the world a much smaller place and brought the NBA closer to the Indian fan than ever more.

No surprise then that the Lakers - who already carried with them the legacies of Mikan, West, Chamberlain, Kareem, Magic, and Worthy - are one of the most popular NBA teams worldwide, including in India, of course. So while the likes of LeBron, Durant, and a certain consistently successful Spurs team have ruled the NBA stratosphere over the past few years, Kobe and the Lakers are still kings across the pond in India.

Now, as the NBA expands its outreach in India, it is looking to hook new fans towards the game by using India's most popular bait: Bollywood. Film stars - both superstars and those on the fringes - and the NBA have a neat mutually-beneficial relationship to help each others' visibility. A couple of reoccurring popular names have been cropping up at NBA events in India around the country in recent years, And seeing the photos from these events have brought me to the scientific conclusion that Indian celebrities love the Lakers. Or, Indian celebrities 'love' the Lakers.

One of the common NBA India partners is actress Neetu Chandra (or Neetu Chandraa as her numerologist may have suggested), a long-time supporter of basketball in India as a former Maharashtra player herself. Chandra has a little niche as Taekwondo black-belt holder and basketball fan. She's a regular at the Indian basketball All Star games in Mumbai and now, a regular celebrity attraction at NBA Jam events around several Indian cities. She likes Kobe.

Rannvijay Singh is that guy who was really mean to everyone on MTV Roadies. Now, he's acted in a few Bollywood films and is going to be an army hero for a TV show called Pukaar. He's also an NBA fan apparently who shockingly loves the Lakers and Kobe. NBA India has invited him to several of their events in recent months, including a showcase with former 3x NBA champ Bruce Bowen (where he wore a Lakers T-Shirt, sorry Spurs fans) and of course, NBA Jam. He likes Kobe.

Abhishek Bachchan is a pretty big star right? Amitabh's son, Guru, all the Dhooms, Dostana, Sarkar, Dostana, Happy New Year etc etc etc. Well, did you know that he loves the Lakers? No, he really does, and he's loved them for a while. Since Magic, we hear. He's been to NBA All Games, Lakers games, etc. He was also chosen by Jabong and NBA India to be the celebrity endorser at the NBA's India store launch in Mumbai, where he showed up in a Lakers # 1 jersey (and I thought it was a tribute to Kobe's greatest ever teammate, Smush Parker).

Before Ranbir Kapoor became 'Rockstar', I knew him mostly for the fact that he was once India's second Knicks fan - after me. Well, Ranbir seems to have quit on his roots and joined the purp-and-yellow side, too. He was at a Lakers game in New York a few years ago, and ended up hanging out with Kobe, getting his sneakers, and rooting for the Lakers.

Models/actors Dino Morea and Lara Dutta were a little ahead of the curve of Bollywooders jumping on the NBA bandwagon, but not many people cared back then. The two got VIP access to the Lakers in Los Angeles, hung out with Kobe, came home with a couple of Lakers jerseys, and saw some NBA hoops. It might blow your mind to hear that they like the Lakers too.

But don't fear, Kobe/Laker haters in India. You'll always have Neha Dhupia, who made sure to order a LeBron Heat jersey online from NBAStore.in the first chance she got. Is she going to burn it now that he's gone back to Cleveland or join the bandwagon? I predict door number two.

And then there's this... I have no idea where the photograph is from and when it was taken. But it's only India's greatest-ever sportsman Sachin Tendulkar chilling in a Chicago Bulls hat. Considering Tendulkar's younger look here and the quality of this photograph, I'm gonna guess that this was sometime in the 90s, around the same time that the greatest-ever basketball player - Mr Michael Jordan - was turning the Bulls into a worldwide institution. Now if only we could get Jordan and Tendulkar in the same shot for a meeting of the Gods. It's gonna be like when Thor meets Superman.

No matter how depressing that 3-13 record looks to Lakers fans right now, at least they can take some relief in the fact that Bollywood still believes in them. That's gotta count for something right? For the haters, just wait another decade when the young kids from today become the stars of tomorrow and make LeBron fashionable in India just in time for his 40th birthday.

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.

Carlos Barroca takes over basketball operations in NBA India, replacing Troy Justice

Over the past 35 years, Carlos Barroca carved up a legendary career as a leader in the game of basketball back in his home nation of Portugal. Now, he gets the opportunity to bring in that experience and leadership qualities to carve up a new legend in India.

The NBA recently announced that Barroca will be taking over as the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India. A former basketball coach, general manager, television analyst, and ambassador, Barroca will replace Troy Justice, the much-beloved American coach and basketball ambassador who had enjoyed several successful years closely aiding the growth of hoops in India.

Barroca will spearhead the NBA's basketball development initiatives in India, which include training local coaches and players, executing grassroots programmes and working with key basketball stakeholders across India to grow the sport. His 35 years of experience has given him several different roles involved with basketball, mostly in Portugal. During the 2000-2001 season, Barroca served as the head coach of the Portuguese Basketball Federation and the national U-20 squad, and has joined the NBA’s Basketball without Borders programme as a guest coach since 2006. Following his time on the sidelines, Barroca was appointed as National Director of High School Sports Programme and selected as a member of the Supreme Council for Sports as well as the Olympic Committee of Portugal. Barroca also served as a consultant for Adecco, a Swiss HR company, S.A., where he promoted team building and motivation in corporate HR.

Barroca joins the NBA India team at a crucial time: in India, the league is currently involved in various grassroots initiatives to grow the NBA brand as well as the brand of basketball, such as the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme, NBA Jam, and more. The rise of the NBA in India will not be isolated from India's overall improving basketball fortunes, and Barroca will have to keep an eye on the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the performances of the India's national squads, and the promise of a potential professional basketball league in the future. Meanwhile, India and the NBA have been drawing closer together abroad, too: an NBA team now has an Indian owner (Vivek Ranadive of the Sacramento Kings) who will be visiting India along with the NBA's new commissioner Adam Silver this December. Plus, the same team also made Canadian national Sim Bhullar into the first-ever player of Indian descent to be signed by the NBA.

With so much on their plate, it is an exciting new beginning both for Barroca and for NBA India. But every new beginning signifies an end too; and in this case, it marks the end of a fruitful tenure by Troy Justice as NBA India's basketball operations' senior directory. Justice will join the NBA's Basketball Operations department in New York at the end of September, working closely with each member of the Basketball Operations staff in the regional offices to support their efforts to grow the game of basketball at both the elite and grassroots level. He will also focus on expanding the NBA’s global youth basketball programming through the Jr. NBA/WNBA programme.

In India, Justice will leave behind some big shoes for Barroca to fill. India can be a challenging place for many outsiders, but Justice took to the country's many idiosyncrasies with ease, and soon, became as popular draw across the country's grassroots basketball circles. From Kerala to Mumbai to Punjab and more, Justice traveled the length and breath of India over the past half a dozen years preaching the gospel of hoops. His personal approach to coaching, his acceptance of everything Indian, and of course, his deep knowledge of the game, all made him a fan favourite among both players and coaches in the country.

A personal thank you from my end to Justice for being just the right fit for basketball and for the NBA in India. He got his start in Indian basketball around the same time I did, and I will always remember our initial correspondences and meetings as we worked to help the game rise from the ground up. Of course, I will always remember our little trip to Aman's in Ludhiana for the best butter chicken in Ludhiana, but that's another story for another day.

Good luck to Justice for his endeavours ahead, and a warm welcome to Barroca, who will hopefully continue to expand on the path of his predecessor.

Year in Hoops: The Best of Indian Basketball in 2013

Happy New Year to all Hoopistanis, to all fans of Indian Basketball around the country and around the world. 2014 is here, and there's been more developments concerning the game in India than ever before. But before we look forward, let's let a look back at the year that was.

Here are the top stories from Indian hoops over the past year, 12 months that spawned unprecedented success - especially for Indian Women - at the Asian level, and also brought the NBA closer to India than ever before (word to Ranadive and Bosh!).

- The year started in Indian Basketball as it usually does, with the crowning of India's Senior National champions at the biggest domestic tournament of the year. In early January, Uttarakhand (Men) and Indian Railways (Women) dominated the National Championship in Ludhiana to grab the crowns.

- ONGC - whose star players comprise most of Uttarakhand's National Championship team - continued their form by winning the 4th JCI All India Basketball Tournament in Athirampuzha of Kottayam district, Kerala on January 13th. Central Railway defeated South Western Railway to win the Women's title.

- There was even more ONGC. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and co won the 27th Federation Cup All India National Basketball Championship for Men & Women in Bangalore in the first week of February. Tamil Nadu's Women - led by Southern Railways' Anitha Paul Durai - captured the Women's title.

- In mid-Feb, NBA India announced that they would be hiring Yannick Colaco - formerly CEO of Nimbus Sport - as their Managing Director.

- In March, Chandigarh hosted an All India Basketball Championship - for Clubs - for the first time, which was won by IOB (Chennai).

- Meanwhile, something special was happening at New Mexico State. Indian-origin Canadian Basketball giant Sim Bhullar started to make waves in his first season in college, leading the Aggies to the NCAA Division 1 tournament, winning WAC championship, MVP award, and starting some real buzz around his potential. Bhullar took the first big step into becoming the first Indian-heritage player to have a chance at the NBA.

- The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) launched India's first-ever 3x3 National Championship in New Delhi in early April.

- India's premier invitational basketball competition - Mumbai's Ramu Memorial tournament - was decided in mid-April with wins to some of the usual suspects - ONGC for Men and Southern Railway for Women.

- In April, the NBA's outgoing commissioner - the legendary David Stern - made his first ever trip to India. Stern visited Mumbai, interacted with Indian players and media, and took part in charity events. He also predicted that an Indian could play in the NBA within five years!

- 25 boys' and 24 girls' teams took part in the 30th Youth (U16) National Championship for Boys and Girls in the first week of May in Kolkata. Delhi (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) were crowned champions.

- India made some incredible progress in a different, yet parallel form of the game. At the first ever FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship, it was India's Women's team - led by Geethu Anna Jose - who defeated more favoured opponents to take home the gold medal. The tournament was held in Qatar (Doha). India's Men also participated in the tournament, but were ousted in the Quarter-Finals. Jose was named the tournament's 'Best Player!'

- A week later, the FIBA Asia 3x3 attention moved to the under-18 division. Once again, India excelled. Both of India's Boys' and Girls' teams played at a high level at the tournament in Bangkok (Thailand), and both went home with silver medals.

- Back across the pond, an unlikely development brought a pleasant surprise, bringing Sacramento and Mumbai closer together. Mumbai-born software entrepreneur Vivek Ranadive became the first Indian-origin majority-owner of an NBA team. Ranadive bought the Kings and helped to keep them in the city of Sacramento. With his purchase, Ranadive has since pushed more and more Indian influence in the NBA franchise than ever before.

- Under new Head Coach Scott Flemming, India started off as favourites to win the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Zone Qualifiers in New Delhi in early June. But the team didn't take their favourites tag for granted, and went on to get comfortable wins over Nepal and Afghanistan to win both their games and qualify for the FIBA Asia Championship for Men in the Philippines.

- Around the same week, the BFI formally announced that India's Senior Women's team had appointed a new head Coach - the Spaniard Francisco Garcia. Garcia came with over 20 years of coaching experience in Spain, Denmark, and Finland, and his first job would be to help the squad in the upcoming Women's FIBA Asia championships.

- In July, India's U16 Boys' won the SABA Qualifiers in Dhaka to qualify for the 3rd FIBA Asia U16 Championship.

- Just weeks after winning his second consecutive NBA Championship, Miami Heat's Chris Bosh visited Mumbai in perhaps the most-hyped visit by an NBA player to India ever. The #NamasteBosh campaign captured the attention of NBA fans all over the country. Bosh did some sightseeing in Mumbai and Agra, announced the new season of NBA Jam, held camps for young players, took part in charity events, and hung out with fringe Bollywood-types.

- In July, it was also announced that India's Snehal Bendke would become one of two first women referees to officiate at the Men's FIBA Asia Championship.

- The 1st-ever Midhun Markose All India Basketball Tournament was held in Thiruvanathapuram from August 4-9, and was won by IOB (Men) and Western Railway (Women).

- Asia's biggest basketball event - the FIBA Asia Championship - was held in Manila (Philippines) in mid-August. Hamed Haddadi led Iran to a dominant victory. India - who had finished 14th at the tournament two years ago - made some important steps to improvement by ending the championship with a 2-6 record at 11th place (out of 16). The Indian players returned encouraged after their performances, because even in their losses they displayed considerable improvement and posed a bigger challenge to their Asian opponents than expected.

- On August 22, ONGC & Southern Railway won the Golden Eagle Blue Star All India Tournament in Chennai.

- Chhattisgarh cemented their domination of Indian hoops at the Junior levels - specially amongst the under-14s - when both their boys' and girls' squads won the 40th National Championship for Sub-Junior Boys and Girls in Patna near the end of August.

- Chhattisgarh weren't done yet. Their Junior (U18) Girls team emerged as victors at the 64th Junior Nationals in Cuttack (Odisha) just a few weeks later. This time, the Boys' title went to the improving team from Delhi.

- India's largest ever 3x3 basketball tournament - the NBA Jam - came to a conclusion in Mumbai on September 29 after traversing through several cities in India. Former NBA players Horace Grant, Ron Harper, and Peja Stojacovic were present as special guests.

- China won their 3rd consecutive gold at the U16 FIBA Asia Championship for Men. Despite some encouraging performances, India couldn't improve on their standings and finished at 11th place again. They ended the tournament with a 2-5 record.

- In October, a game-changing announcement hit Indian hoops. The Reliance Foundation and NBA announced a multiyear partnership to launch a comprehensive school-based youth basketball strategy for India: the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme, whiche aimed to teach basketball to more than 100,000 youth and train 300 coaches and physical education instructors to implement a turnkey NBA curriculum in India. Over the course of the long-term partnership, the goal has been stated to reach one million youth and train 2,000 coaches and physical education instructors across the country!

- Before the start of the new NBA season, Vivek Ranadive's Sacramento Kings became the first NBA team to launch a website in Hindi to reach out to more Indian fans!

- By the end of October, The BFI and IMG Reliance brought back the School Basketball League around India, but expanded it to the largest-ever iteration to include eight cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Indore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai.

- Indian NBA fans were surprised with some great news as the new NBA season began: sports channel Sony SIX announced that they would be showing an NBA doubleheader EVERY SINGLE DAY live during the course of the season in India, with up to 14 games a week. Never has there been more basketball on Indian TV!

- India's Women's team continued to take strides forward. Taking part in the FIBA Asia Women's Championship from October 27 - November 3 in Bangkok (Thailand), India finished at a best-ever 5th place, and also defeated Kazakhstan to score their first-ever victory in Level 1 in their 43-year history at the tournament. Francisco Garcia's debut as coach was a resounding success. India also defeated Malaysia to remain in Level 1. Japan won gold at the tournament.

- By the end of November, India's Women were in FIBA Asia action again. This time it was the U16 team, which finished 5th for the second consecutive time at the U16 FIBA Asia Championship (with a 2-4 record) in Colombo (Sri Lanka). China won their second gold at the championship.

- WNBA superstar Swin Cash visited India in Mid-December for a few days to support the growth of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Programme.

- Three pillars of basketball - the BFI, the NBA, and FIBA, joined hands in December to bring expert training to India's most influential basketball coaches. It was announced that 120 Indian coaches from four zones around the country will receive the FIBA Level 1 Coaching Certification as well as BFI Certification. The camps started to be headed by FIBA's coaching instructor Nelson Isley, NBA India's Troy Justice and India's national team coaches Scott Flemming and Francisco Garcia.

- The year ended with the launch of the BFI-IMG Reliance College League, set to the same format as the School League and in the same eight cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Indore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai.

Overall, it's been a busy, and mostly successful year. With every year, the calender of events and India's achievements gets busier. So we hope that in 2014, basketball in India gets bigger than ever before.