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There’s no question anymore — basketball isn’t just an American game. It’s global. The 2025–26 NBA season proves it beyond debate: a record 135 players born outside the United States are on opening-night rosters, representing 43 countries across six continents. That marks the 12th straight year with over 100 international players in the league. And that global mix isn’t a happy accident: it’s the product of years of careful expansion, cultural adaptation, and smart localization. Now, the NBA is setting its sights firmly on India. Global Game, Local Flavor Ask Mark Tatum, the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, and he’ll tell you straight — globalization isn’t just about broadcasting games to more countries; it’s about making the game feel local everywhere. “I think it is critical. One of our key pillars of growing the game internationally is localizing content and making games available to fans in their native language. That’s why our games are available in 214 countries and territories around the world, and in some 60 different languages,’ Tatum told News18 Sports in a roundtable conversation with international media. “Technology is only going to help expand that. We’re testing different AI models that will translate instantaneously, so that no matter what language, dialect, or native tongue you want to listen to an NBA game in, we’re going to be able to provide that in the not-too-distant future. We’ll go as fast as the technology will take us, but I think it’s just another way of localizing our game and our sport.” India: The Next Big Basketball Story When it comes to India, the NBA is clearly going beyond surface-level interest. Over the past few years, it’s been actively building the game’s presence through youth programs, digital content, and immersive fan events. A major milestone came during the 2025 NBA Finals, when the league hosted its first-ever BudX NBA House in Mumbai, a full-fledged basketball-meets-culture experience. The event, powered by Budweiser, transformed the city into an NBA hub. Fans got to shoot hoops, vibe to live music, hang out with NBA legends like Derek Fisher and Gary Payton, and catch the Finals atmosphere up close, thousands of miles from the U.S. The idea? Simple: make the NBA feel local. “In India, as you know, we had our very first NBA House in Mumbai this year during the Finals, and the response there was incredible,” Tatum remarked. “Fans travelled from across the country to Mumbai for the NBA House, which really reaffirmed how much energy and enthusiasm there is for the NBA across the country. “I think that’s part of localization, bringing those events there. We’re really encouraged by the growth we’re seeing in India, and we continue to work with our local stakeholders to expand our youth development programs, make NBA merchandise more widely available, and create localized content specifically for fans in India,” he added. Developing Grassroots Talent: The BFI and ACG Partnerships The NBA surely know that for basketball to be truly embraced as India’s own sport, it needs a homegrown league and a solid domestic structure. That’s where the league’s local partnerships come in. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has been laying the groundwork for a professional league, and the NBA, along with its partners like ACG Worldwide, which has already collaborated with the league on grassroots initiatives, is ready to help build something lasting. “One of the key things that will accelerate the growth of basketball in India is having a league: a top-tier league. I know the BFI actually granted rights to someone we know very, very well, and we’re talking to our friends there and want to support that in any way we can,” Tatum explained. “We think that’s a really important step in accelerating the growth of basketball in India — having a top-tier, established league there. “We’re going to work with our partners at FIBA, the federation, and with those who have the license to set up the league, to get that up and running, and launched successfully,” he concluded. Why It All Matters If you zoom out, India represents exactly what the NBA’s global future looks like: a young, tech-savvy audience, a rapidly growing sports market, and a generation hungry for new sporting heroes. “We’ll go as fast as the technology will take us,” Tatum said. “But I think it’s just another way of localizing our game and our sport.” As Tatum’s comments make clear, the league isn’t just trying to sell basketball in India — it’s trying to make India a basketball nation.
