Bollywood. The Taj Mahal. Cricket. These are some of the things that India, the world’s largest democracy by population, is known for universally.
But today, as a proud overseas citizen of India, I want to make sure basketball goes on that list, too.
As a country with many densely populated urban areas, basketball was almost immediately adopted in India upon its invention in 1891 because of the ease with which it could be played in small spaces. In addition, from the beginning, the sport in India did not discriminate by gender, as many colleges and schools allowed both men and women to showcase their talents and achieve recognition as well as potential sports scholarships. My grandmother was one of these fortunate players who derived a sense of purpose from the game while in school, although she never pursued basketball for a scholarship.
Basketball’s institutional journey in India began in the 1930s, with the first Indian national championship tournament during the decade.Soon enough, more domestic tournaments were played, attracting young talent and popularizing the sport. In 1950, the Basketball Federation of India officially organized the sport.It created an Indian national team that competed in international competition as a member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world’s basketball governing body.
The men’s national team has appeared in the Olympics and FIBA World Cup, while winning three gold medals in the South Asian games. While the women’s national team has not achieved this level of success, they have made a name for themselves in tournaments such as the FIBA Asia Championship.
Despite this level of organization and team success, only a few players of Indian descent have ever been drafted into the NBA. The most famous is center Satnam Singh Bhamara, who is originally from a small village in the state of Punjab called Baloke.
Bhamara’s story from rags to the NBA is a compelling one, and was documented in Netflix’s documentary "One in a Billion" (2016). After getting an opportunity to play in the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida on a scholarship, he started getting noticed by coaches and teams, and in 2015, he was selected 52nd overall in the NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the first player born in India to ever be on a NBA team.
This was an historic moment for Indian basketball. Not only did it mean that numerous young Indian basketball players now had a successful idol to look up to, but it also meant that basketball in India was becoming more recognized across the globe.
The NBA, realizing the strength and talent of the market in India, which has the world’s largest youth population, opened the NBA Academy India in New Delhi. This academy is an attempt to attract the best players from around the country and have them be developed by experienced international coaches, and to have them train with the best infrastructure.
Also, in 2019, the NBA played its first game in India, with a game between the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers in Mumbai. This was an effort led by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Indian-born Vivek Ranadivé, the chairman, CEO, and governor of the the Kings.
Hopefully, efforts like these continue to not only popularize the sport in the country, but give the country more tools to develop its talent and hopefully have more players enter and achieve success in the NBA. It shouldn’t be difficult though, as what is most important, the passion and fervor, is in abundance.
