Another marketing opportunity.
In less than three weeks, the 30 National Basketball Association teams open up training camps and it is during the month of October that the NBA does an awful lot of global marketing in an effort to expand the product and as a side benefit sell more merchandise. In less than a month’s time, six NBA teams will be in Asia with the first two pre-season games at the new stop for the league. India. The Sacramento Kings, a franchise that is owned by Vivek Ranadive who was born in Bombay in 1957, will take on the Indiana Pacers in a pair of games in Ranadive’s hometown which is now called Mumbai. India has never had any of the big four North American sports leagues play a game within the country. India is the second most populated country in the world and North American leagues are beginning to marketing themselves in the country. The NBA will have pre-season games played this year. Major League Baseball is beginning to set up shop in the country with clinics. India is also angling for the 2032 Summer Olympics.
The NBA is returning to China with the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James playing a pair of pre-season games. The NBA is also going to Japan with the Houston Rockets and the defending champions Toronto Raptors playing a pair of pre-season games. It is worth noting that the 2020 Summer Olympics is taking place in Tokyo. The NBA’s stars will be on display in the Olympics tournament next summer. One place the NBA doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to explore is Australia. World Cup preliminary matches were held in Australia in August and attracted a good number of customers. But the NBA is not staging games in Sydney or Melbourne. That could change if Australia lands the 2032 Summer Olympics, which could feature NBA players.
