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Earlier this week, the logo of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) was unveiled. Announced in February, the BAL will be NBA's first-ever foray into operating a professional league outside of North America.
About the BAL
The inaugural season of the BAL will commence from March 2020, with games being held across the African continent, in countries like Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, Angola, Morocco, Tunisia and Rwanda.
12 club teams will compete in the BAL, which is expected to help raise the competitive standing of African countries internationally.
The vibrant colours of the new BAL logo (unveiled on December 19th) celebrate the continent's diversity, its rich basketball heritage and the League's Pan-African footprint.
Why the NBA is interested in Africa
Africa boasts of some of the tallest and most naturally gifted athletes in the world. As many as nine African players were drafted by the NBA this year.
Historically, Africa has produced legendary Hall of Famers such as Nigeria's Hakeem Olajuwon and Congo's Dikembe Mutombo. Notable names among the current lot of African players in the NBA include Cameroon's Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) and Pascal Siakam (2019 NBA Champion with the Toronto Raptors).
The 2018-19 NBA season featured 108 foreign (i.e. non-US) players, out of which 13 were Africa born.
Why BAL matters to India
BAL developments assume special significance, especially after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, announced that the NBA was seriously considering starting a pro league in India within five years.
Silver made this headline-grabbing announcement during the first-ever NBA India Games in October.
But Silver also cautioned that the primary challenge towards India hosting an NBA managed pro league will be the construction of world-class playing arenas. India currently lacks such facilities, and even the country's premier National Championships continue to be played on a mix of indoor and outdoor courts.
When it comes to India, the NBA's interest stems primarily from the country's massive 1.3 billion plus population, out of which a majority are below the age of 35. As rumours go, NBA is keen to capitalize as much as possible on the Indian market after losing out on a similar opportunity to start a League in China a few decades ago.
NBA's recently strained relationship with China has been a wake-up call for the world's most recognisable basketball league brand to aggressively explore the possibility of entering other similarly sized markets. And China's neighbour India is right on top of the NBA's wishlist.
All of the above reasons are why the BAL needs to be closely followed by the Indian basketball community since its success/failure could well dictate the timelines of NBA's Pro League push in India.
Guess the Lakers players!
