Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS) Before the first-ever NBA India Games between Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings take place here on Friday and Saturday, a host of activities have been lined up to develop the sport in the country.
On Thursday, NBA Cares, which is the league’s global social responsibility program that builds on the NBA’s mission of addressing important social issues, will have 50 boys and girls from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program along with players from the NBA Academies Women’s Program, volunteering to inspire play and basketball’s values.
The event will be graced by players from both Pacers and Kings. While Malcolm Brogdon, Alize Johnson and Goga Bitadze will be there from the Pacers, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Dewayne Dedmon will represent Kings.
On the same day, there will be a coach’s clinic led by the coaching staff of Pacers and Kings at the Central Railway Sports Association in Parel.
Over 100 coaches from across India will receive insights on coaching techniques during the one-day clinic.
The NBA will also begin a series of grassroots community, youth basketball and elite development events and programmes for thousands of young people, teachers, coaches and families across Mumbai.
The first-ever NBA game in India, when the Kings and Pacers take the court on October 4 at the Dome, NSCI, SVP Stadium in Mumbai, will be played in front of 3,000 youth from the participating Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA schools.
Continuing and expanding the initiatives ahead of The NBA India Games, the NBA, Pacers and Kings will support five under-resourced municipal schools in and around Mumbai, including the Sitaram Mill Compound Marathi BMC School, where league and team executives and former NBA players will break ground for a new basketball court on October 5.
–IANS
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