Pacers, Kings to Play First NBA Games in India

NBA to play preseason games in Mumbai, India in October 2019.

The NBA will continue with its globalization of the game by playing games in India for the first time, the league announced Thursday.

The Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings will play two preseason games in Mumbai in October 2019, making the games the first ever to be played in India by any North American sports league.

"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. "We thank the Kings and Pacers organizations for participating in this historic event."

The games—slated for Friday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 5, at the NSCI Dome—have special meaning to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who became the first Indian majority owner of an NBA team in 2013.

“As an Indian-American, it is an honor to help bring this historic moment to the country where I was raised,” Ranadive said in a statement.