AFP, NEW YORKThe first NBA games to be played in India are to be staged in Mumbai in October, with pre-season contests between the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings, the league said on Thursday. The matchups, the first ever by any North American sports league in the nation of 1.2 billion people, are to be played on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 at the NSCI Dome and televised live in India. The Kings are owned by the NBA’s first Indian-born majority owner, Mumbai native Vivek Ranadive. “We’re thrilled to be one of the first two teams to play the first-ever game in India and proud to be part of the expanding NBA worldwide footprint of our game of basketball,” Pacers owner Herb Simon said. “Our inaugural NBA India Games will help further untap the enormous basketball potential in a country with a thriving sports culture, and a growing, young and engaged population,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

Source: Taipei Times December 21, 2018 16:02 UTC