The National Basketball Association (NBA) in India is committed to expanding talent development across the country to build a better pipeline of players and nurture local heroes for the game of basketball to grow and become more popular. In a recent interview with News18 Sports, Rajah Chaudhry, Head of Strategy, Asia Pac & Country Head, India at the NBA, shared insights about the organization’s commitment to expanding its elite talent development program in India.
Chaudhry believes there is more scope to create a scalable model for talent development to tap into the vast sporting potential across the country. The current plan is to move away from the single academy in Noida and expand to other areas across the country, especially in the south and northeast regions, where basketball is popular and talent pools up.
The expansion aims to create local basketball heroes and provide more competition for elite-level players. Chaudhry emphasized the role of schools in the program, as they are key to catching young talent and providing infrastructure for the sport. The NBA is seeking to strike a balance between scale and impact to reach more cities and have a greater influence.