NBA’s interest in India may be boon for Kings

Coincidence and conspiracy theories aside and yes, it certainly is tempting to give the award-winning series “Homeland” a Sacramento spin the commissioner’s overseas escapade is unrelated to Vivek Ranadive’s involvement with the group attempting to buy the Kings and partner with the city on a downtown sports and entertainment complex.

The NBA is keen on drama, infatuated with expanding its brand, and unfailingly protective of its reputation as the most progressive and inclusive of America’s four major sports leagues.

Then all the other variables become far more important, among them: demographics; population; television market size and the number of competitors in the market; the league preference for retaining viable franchises in existing locations; and the quality of the potential ownership group, which in this case, features a handful of wealthy and innovative investors, but only one of whom born in India.

Ranadive’s recent inclusion not only financially strengthened Sacramento’s bid, it introduced a unique and tantalizing element into the equation: the potential presence of an Indian-born owner to put a face on the league’s forays into the second-most heavily populated country in the world.

While his committee members evaluate the competing arena projects, Stern is staying away from Ranadive, the Kings, Seattle.

The commissioner also plans to meet with investors about arena development, creation of a professional league, retail sponsorships and e-commerce, and squeeze in his usual assortment of meet-and-greets.

Besides the absence of adequate facilities and the usual array of economic, political and cultural issues common to league expansion into other global markets, India, a nation of 1.2 billion, lacks anything resembling a basketball tradition; cricket dominates as the No.

Wilkins, the Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer who accompanied the Atlanta Hawks on their tour of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, believes popularizing the sport in India will be more incremental than explosive.

“I went with Basketball Without Borders for its first visit in 2008,” said Wilkins, “and it was a very different experience than the Soviet Union of 30 years ago.