As the NBA continues its journey to make the sport of basketball more prevalent in the international stage, one man who has been at the thick of it all is Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo.

Recently, the eight-time All-Star big man was one of the ambassadors of the league as it recently launched an outreach program in India, with the objective of improving the quality of education in certain areas of the country. According to Mutombo, he is extremely proud of how the NBA has continued to expand its reach globally.

“I think the NBA and its family have created a platform for so many people to follow, as an example and a model. I am really happy with the work the NBA is doing, especially with its players and owners. We are making the world a better place. We are teaching our kids the game of basketball. It's very important that the kids learn how to play the sport in a healthy and safe environment,” said Mutombo at the sidelines of the event, via Sports Cafe India.

Mutombo went on to say that through this new platform, the potential for growth of the sport of basketball in this highly-populated nation is indeed very promising.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Draymond Green, Bill Laimbeer, Grayson Allen, Dennis Rodman (Pistons)

Bailey Bassett ·

“For a long time, people said that there's no chance of a league in Africa. We traveled there many times, organizing grassroots initiatives and developed the game of basketball for the young people. And now basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the continent. I believe that India has the same platform. We've seen basketball grow in China and Philippines. We are not looking to take over cricket here, but the youngsters should have a chance to decide which sport they want to play,” said the Hall Of Famer.

It's definitely great that the NBA continues to place its global initiative as one of the most important aspects of the brand's overall expansion. They appear to have tapped another gold mine in India, and it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the nation moving forward.