NEW ORLEANS -- Few people, if any, have a stronger desire to see the sport of basketball flourish in India than Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive.
The Mumbai native grew up playing soccer and cricket on the sands of Juhu Beach but ultimately became enchanted with basketball years after becoming a wealthy tech innovator in Silicon Valley. He bought a share of the Golden State Warriors in November 2010 and went on to become the first India-born majority owner in NBA history when he relinquished that stake and purchased the Kings in May 2013.
He was a pivotal figure in keeping the Kings from relocating to Seattle and getting the sparkling new 17,500-seat Golden 1 Center built in downtown Sacramento. Ranadive hasn't forgotten his Indian roots, though, as evidenced by his keen interest in growing the game in the nation of his birth.
On the eve of the 66th NBA All-Star Game in Louisiana, Ranadive spoke to ESPN India about his hopes and expectations for basketball in the subcontinent and the fortunes of the Kings. Here's what transpired:
ESPN India: What are the most important factors to growing the game of basketball in India?
Ranadive: I think there are three factors that will help make my dream come true, which is to make basketball the second-most popular sport in India. Cricket will always be the national pastime, but I think basketball can be a strong No. 2.
The first thing is that we've started programs evangelising the game with kids. We have clinics, we give balls out and we send coaches out. I believe that we have to keep doing that. It's working. There are now millions of little boys and girls bouncing balls around the country. We have to do more of that and just keep pushing on it.
The second factor is we have to make it easy for the people in India to consume the content and get the game. We became the first team to use Facebook Live to broadcast a game live to India. We have to make it accessible and easy to consume, and it has to be done on mobile and social platforms and also the main [television] networks.
Third, I think it's really important for us to actually go and show India what a real NBA game looks like. So my dream is to become the first team to actually play a game in India. Then we have to keep doing that.
When might we see an NBA game played in India?
I think we're probably a couple of years away, but not five years away. There are facilities that could work. We just have to get them to an NBA level. I fully expect that in the next two or three years, we will be able to do that.
What locations are being considered?
My dream scenario would be that in the next couple of years, the Sacramento Kings head to that part of the world, stop in a place like Dubai, and have an exhibition game there. Then we go to Delhi and have a game at the Indira Gandhi [Arena], then hold an open outdoor practice outside the Taj Mahal [in Agra] for the entire world to see. That would be a sight like no other. Then fly to Mumbai and have a Bollywood-cricket-basketball fashion show and music festival that includes our teams. Then we also conduct some clinics while we're down there. That would be my dream trip.
What factors have to be ironed out for that to happen?
Obviously, we have to be satisfied that we have the facilities to do that. We have to make sure that the scheduling and all of that works. Then getting all the stakeholders, including the other team -- and I've already talked to the Indiana Pacers about being the other team. [Pacers owner] Herb Simon loves India and has been there several times.
What was your background in sports growing up in India?
I was a rabid sports fan and especially a cricket fan. I lived right by the beach, so I would come home from school every day and I would just go to the beach and play soccer or get a group together to play cricket. I have very fond memories of doing that.
How often are you able to visit India these days?
I went there once with Adam Silver when he first became the commissioner and did a tour of India evangelising basketball. Then I also went with President Obama on a state visit to India. I don't get there very often, but it's always exciting for me to go back to the country of my birth.
Do you still follow Indian sports closely today?
I don't follow them as closely anymore, and I have to confess that I'm a huge basketball fan. I love basketball. In my mind, it's the greatest show on Earth. But obviously when India is in the [Cricket] World Cup, I try to keep up with that.
Your entry point to basketball was coaching your daughter's youth team. How did you go from that to buying a stake in the Warriors?
I fell in love with the game. I thought it was amazing, and I saw it as the game of the future. There was more athleticism than you have in cricket, and there is non-stop action. [Warriors owner] Joe Lacob was my neighbour and friend, and when he bought the Warriors he asked me and some other friends if we would join him. I thought that was a great opportunity, and I'm thankful to him for giving me that opportunity.
Was it bittersweet to see the Warriors win the NBA championship after you left and bought the Kings?
No, I'm delighted that they've had that success. I spent the first few years when we were getting booed over there, and just as the team made the playoffs I decided to buy the Kings. So I missed the glory days, but we've done a lot of good [in getting a new Sacramento arena constructed], and we've always said it's about more than the game. We've created thousands of jobs, and there has been a billion-dollar impact on the economy. What we're doing there has transformed the city. I wish the Warriors well, but now my goal is to kick their butts.
You have to be excited that DeMarcus Cousins said he would like to keep playing with the Kings for years to come. Might you ask him to visit India?
He would love to. He's got great passion for the game, and he has talked to me about how he would like nothing better than to evangelise the game. I think he would be a great ambassador for the game in India.
You have called yourself an "irritant" owner. Would you describe your role as hands-on or hands-off?
One of the things that I've always been able to do is surround myself with people that are way smarter than me. I did that in the business world and everything I've been involved with, so I'm really excited about the team I've put together -- both on the basketball side and also the business side. My role is just to challenge them and ask questions and let them do their jobs. We have a culture that is open, and we have a one-for-all, all-for-one mindset.
On the basketball side, we have a really great human being in [former Kings center] Vlade [Divac] as the GM. He and the coach [Dave Joerger] are on the same page and work very closely together, and I think he's a fantastic coach. We're now at a point I'm very excited about, where the GM, the coach and our star player and the culture that we're starting to build is all starting to come together.