MUMBAI, Oct. 1, 2019 – The NBA India Games 2019, which will feature the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers playing two preseason games Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Dome, NSCI, SVP Stadium in Mumbai, will mark the first games that teams from a North American sports league will play in India.
Below is a look at facts and figures about The NBA India Games 2019:
10 million – The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Program, a comprehensive youth development initiative that aims to develop the game at the grassroots level in India, has reached more than 10 million youth from 13,000 schools across 34 cities and has trained more than 13,000 physical instructors nationwide since the program’s launch in 2013.
3.1 million – More than 3.1 million fans follow the NBA India Facebook page.
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8,353 – The distance from Sacramento to Mumbai is approximately 8,353 miles (13,442 kilometers).
8,159 – The distance from Indianapolis to Mumbai is approximately 8,159 miles (13,129 kilometers).
3,000 – As part of Reliance Foundation’s Education and Sports for All (ESA) initiative, the NBA will invite 3,000 boys and girls from participating Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA schools in Mumbai to attend the “The NBA India Games for Reliance Foundation ESA” on Oct. 4.
2017 – The NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for the top male and female prospects from throughout India and the first of its kind in the country, officially opened in May 2017.
Above: Kevin Durant at the NBA Academy India just months after the elite training center was opened.
2011 – The NBA office in Mumbai, which opened in 2011, is one of 12 NBA offices outside the U.S.
750 – NBA products and merchandise are available in more than 750 retail stores across India and on NBAStore.in Powered by Myntra, the official online NBA store in India.
300 – More than 300 live NBA games are available in India each season on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY ESPN, including 85 with Hindi commentary.
MORE: Evolution of NBA viewership in India
200 – The NBA India Games 2019 will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories via television, digital and social media.
35 – More than 35 current and former NBA players have visited India on behalf of the NBA since 2006.
MORE: Lookback at offseason visits to India by NBA players
30 – There are currently 30 active NBA Basketball Schools in six cities across India providing tuition-based basketball development programs to boys and girls ages 6-18.
20 – Twenty boys and girls from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program represented India in the 2019 Jr. NBA Global Championship in Orlando, Florida from Aug. 6-11.
17 – Kings Chairman, CEO, Governor and Mumbai-native Vivek Ranadivé was 17 years old when he left India for Cambridge, Massachusetts to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
14 – The Kings (7) and Pacers (7) have played a combined 14 NBA games outside of North America heading into The NBA India Games 2019.
10 – More than 10 years ago, NBA Cares created its first Live, Learn and Play Place in India (Delhi 2008), and upon completion of the NBA’s series of grassroots community, youth basketball and elite development events and programs ahead of The NBA India Games 2019, the NBA will have created more than 1,305 places where kids and families can live, learn or play in communities around the world.
8 – The Kings and Pacers feature eight international players representing seven countries and territories:
Kings (5): Nemanja Bjelica (Serbia), Bogdan Bogdanović (Serbia), Buddy Hield (Bahamas), Cory Joseph (Canada) and Isaiah Pineiro (Puerto Rico)
Pacers (3): Goga Bitadze (Georgia), Amida Brimah (Ghana) and Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania)
5 – The NBA, Pacers and Kings will support five under-resourced municipal schools in and around Mumbai, including Sitaram Mill Compound Marathi BMC School, where league and team executives and former NBA players will break ground on a new basketball court on Oct. 5. In partnership with American India Foundation (AIF), this joint Legacy Project will transform the educational experience for hundreds of Mumbai’s most underserved students for years to come.
1 – The NBA India Games will mark the first games that teams from a North American sports league will play in India.
For more updates and stories on the NBA India Games 2019, you can follow NBA.com's page dedicated to the historic event.