India is a critical market for the NBA: Adam Silver

Adam Silver feels that more Indians could be part of the NBA in the future

The Commissioner of the National Basketball Association(NBA) Adam Silver has said that while it may be a bit too early for India to stage tournament like the NBA, he certainly had no doubt they could have a successful basketball league in the future.

“It's premature to say that we'll have a league on the lines of NBA... but it's something we're looking closely at. I have no doubt that over time, there will be a successful basketball league in India,” Silver said in an interview to the Times of India.

While Cricket continues to remain the number 1 sport, Basketball has seen an increase in support base in recent times, due to the involvement of the likes of the Indian-origin player Sim Bhullar and Satnam Singh Bhamara.

When asked if he saw more Indians featuring in the NBA in the future, Silver said he was optimistic about it, but felt it could happen only if more kids took up the sport.

“I do see more Indians playing. It's a direct function of how many young Indians play the game,” he said.

India is a critical market for the NBA: Silver

Silver further added that India was an extremely important market for the NBA and also had a word of praise for the media coverage of the League in India. He also felt hopeful about more and more youngsters looking at the sport as one of their favourites.

“It is critically important. I travelled to Mumbai in December with Vivek Ranadive, one of our owners who was born in Mumbai. We see it as an incredibly exciting market. While we know we can't compete with cricket of course, but we know that increasingly young people in India are playing basketball, are following the game, and experiencing the game through the terrific coverage through Sony and other points of digital media,” the 53-year-old said.

So it's a market that we will be increasingly focused on. We have great hopes in the future that more and more young people in India will look at basketball as one of their favourite sports,” he added.

With the NBA Finals, presently going on between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Silver also heaped praise on the performance of LeBron James, saying it has been a pleasure to watch him play on the court.

“Spectacular. I said leading to the finals, people are say into the finals, people are saying that he's one of the greatest players ever, and at the end of his career he may find himself as the greatest player ever and for the fan in me...it's just a pleasure to watch him on court,” he said.