NAGPUR: India’s first national scouting program, conducted by the NBA — organizers of the world’s best basketball league in the US — will be a three-day activity. The ACG-NBA jump national tryout for 30 shortlisted cagers from a pool of over 1,600 players is scheduled at the NBA India Academy in Noida from Thursday.
The scouting program that provides aspiring basketball players from across the country with a platform to compete alongside one another and receive additional basketball development opportunities, will take place from July 14-16 at Jaypee Greens, Noida. Spread over three days, India’s 30 most promising young players will be competing for full scholarships to attend NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center.
Launched in 2015, the sixth edition of the NBA-ACG Jump tryout tipped off on May 21 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The program visited six cities across India — New Delhi, Kottayam, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — and saw participation from more than 1,600 players. The program provides basketball players to train under the guidance of NBA-certified coaches. Of the 1,600 participants, 30 promising cagers will be seen in action during the national tryout.
In 2015, Palpreet Singh became the top prospect from the program's inaugural edition. Within a year, he attended the 2016 NBA G-League National Tryout in the United States and was subsequently drafted by the Long Island Nets in the NBA G-League Draft.
India’s rising star Princepal Singh, who became the first NBA Academy India player to sign with the NBA G-League, was the first Indian hoopster ever to lift an NBA trophy when his team won the Summer League Championship.
