Fifth Annual Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA Program To Engage More Than 4.5 million Youth & Coaches In India

MUMBAI, Dec. 11 2017 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the return of The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program, a comprehensive youth basketball initiative that applies the values of basketball to positively impact the lives of Indian boys and girls.

Returning to India for the fifth consecutive year, the expanded program runs through March 2018 and expects to engage more than 4.5 million youth and 4,500 physical education instructors and coaches in 34 cities nationwide. The program – the largest in its five-year history – focuses on inspiring youth to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle by integrating basketball into the physical education curriculum of the 4,500 participating schools.

“We are thrilled to enhance the presence of basketball in more cities and develop life skills amongst youth through our partnership with the NBA,” said a Reliance Foundation spokesperson. “The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program is in line with our goal of enabling children to develop holistically through sports.”

“Between the launch of The NBA Academy India, the opening of NBA Basketball Schools in Mumbai and Delhi, and our largest Jr. NBA program in the country to date, we are more focused than ever on growing basketball among young Indian boys and girls at all levels,” said NBA India Vice President & Managing Director Yannick Colaco. “The Reliance Foundation shares our commitment to holistic development through sports and teaching the values of the game, including teamwork, leadership, and respect.”

The program, which remains free for all participants, includes individual skills competitions; a timed circuit-based challenge incorporating dribbling, passing and shooting; and 5-on-5 competitions. The top performers from each in-school skills competition will qualify to attend the citywide skills challenge, and the finalists from each citywide skills challenge will compete at the City Finals in 2018. The Jr. NBA Coaches Academy will train local coaches from partner schools

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents. During the 2016-17 season, the NBA reached more than 18 million youth in 53 countries through its youth participation initiatives.

Students, parents, coaches, and teachers can visit rf.jrnba.com, the official destination of The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program, to learn more.

Since its launch in 2013, The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has reached more than six million youth and trained more than 5,000 physical education instructors nationwide. The program is part of the NBA’s existing basketball and youth development initiatives in India. In April 2017, the NBA launched NBA Basketball School, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs around the world open to male and female players ages 6-18 from outside the U.S. The first NBA Basketball Schools launched in New Delhi and Mumbai as part of a multiyear agreement with India On Track (IOT), one of India’s leading sports management, marketing and development companies. The NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for the top male and female prospects from throughout India and the first of its kind in the country, officially opened in May 2017. NBA Champion Kevin Durant became the first active NBA player to visit the academy in July 2017.

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About Reliance Foundation

Reliance Foundation (RF) aims to play a catalytic role in addressing the nation’s development challenges through innovative and sustainable solutions with its focus in the areas of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Sports for Development, Disaster Response, Urban Renewal, and Promotion and protection of India’s Arts, Culture and Heritage. Smt. Nita M. Ambani is the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation and the guiding spirit behind the Foundation's ambitious vision of becoming the leading vehicle for social development, empowering the underprivileged and infusing social transformation in India. Reliance Foundation reaches out to over 5,500 villages and various urban locations across India.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA G League. The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2017-18 season featured 108 international players from a record 42 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA App and NBA League Pass. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.4 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.