The National Basketball Association (NBA) and SONY SIX have tied up to launch an interactive basketball festival called NBA Jam in September. The free event which has 3-on-3 basketball and performances from musical artists will have stops in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai.
The 3-on-3 tournament will culminate with a National Finals in Mumbai on September 29 and the winning team will get to compete against three NBA Legends for the first time.
Nearly 500 teams participate are expected to participate in the 3-on-3 contests this year as opposed to 400 last year. This edition of the event will include women’s divisions for the first time. In each city, 120 teams will compete across two age divisions for men and women, 16-18 and 19-23. Winning teams from each city will be invited to the National Finals in Mumbai, where they will play in a small-scale replica NBA arena.
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SONY SIX, the league’s broadcast partner in India, will create content around each event stop, integrating celebrities from the network’s top shows, and will air a 60 minute program showcasing the National Finals.
NBA Jam will have free fan activities including a slam dunk contest, basketball clinics, 3-point shootouts, skills challenges. Apart from this, there will be a technology boutique featuring social media fan integration, an NBA photos and video wall, and a gaming zone for fans. Each stop will also feature free concerts from leading artists to keep fans entertained.
“NBA Jam will engage both the passionate and casual fan with a mix of basketball and live entertainment,”said Yannick Colaco, Managing Director, NBA India. “SONY SIX is an ideal partner that is committed to developing basketball further in India, and we are excited to bring an authentic NBA experience to fans across India.”
N P Singh COO, MSM said “NBA Jam is the rise of a new gameplay in the world of sports. It is an exciting platform that pushes the envelope of sports from a mere competition to a cultural extravaganza. We at SONY SIX along with NBA are bringing this exceptional initiative to India for all sports aficionados. With a remarkable format, NBA Jam will not only boost Basketball participation in the country, but also strengthen the footprint of sports and drive viewership for NBA programs available exclusively on SONY SIX”.