Cagers get the boost: Two-time NBA champion Ray Allen to foster basketball in India

"No one is a loser in any walk of life, we have to either win or learn," said two-time NBA champion Ray Allen while addressing a press conference in the city. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member is in India to promote the National Basketball Association (NBA).

"I will reach out to budding players in the country," said the champion. Standing 6.5" tall, this is his first visit to the country, where he will attend a live T20 cricket match and make a guest appearance on JioCinema’s cricket show.

Ray Allen's India itinerary

Allen will visit NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training centre, which was supported in prior years by ACG for the top prospects from throughout India and the first of its kind in the country, in Delhi-NCR, where he will lead a basketball clinic for 50 students from the NBA Basketball School programmes in India and train with NBA Academy India prospects.

“I’m excited to make this trip to India to experience the country’s local sporting culture,” said Allen. “The NBA has contributed so much to the growth of basketball in India, and I look forward to playing a part in their continued efforts to grow the game.”

Who is Ray Allen?

The shooting guard, Allen was drafted No. 5 overall in the 1996 NBA Draft and went on to win two NBA championships during his 18-year career, with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and with the Miami Heat in 2012. The 10-time NBA All-Star retired as the all-time leader in three-point field goals before the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry surpassed his record in 2021.

Hall of Fame honour in 2018

Allen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team prior to the 2021-22 season. NBA Basketball School and NBA Academy India are part of the NBA’s broader basketball development initiatives in India that provide a predictable pathway for players to learn the game and maximise their potential.

NBA Basketball School in India

NBA Basketball School, a network of tuition-based basketball development programmes open to male and female players from outside the US aged 6 to 18, launched in India in 2017. There are currently 40 NBA Basketball School programmes across 27 locations in eight cities in India. NBA Academy India, which opened in 2017, has seen 20 male and female participants commit to NCAA Division I schools and junior colleges in the US or sign professional contracts.