TimesofIndia.com in SINGAPORE: For nearly two quarters against Indonesia’s Jubliee School in their opening game of NBA’s Rising Star Invitational 2026 in Singapore, the Velammal International School looked capable of competing. India’s lone representatives moved the ball confidently and defended with intent, for spells.Then the pressure arrived. The pace quickened, the legs tired, and the margin steadily widened. By the final buzzer, the scoreboard read 95-61.In their second game against South Korea’s Kyungbock High School – one of Asia’s strongest school programmes – and the eventual winners, the relentless full-court press squeezed every possession. Passing lanes disappeared. Turnovers increased. Every defensive rebound quickly became another attack.By the time the final buzzer sounded, Velammal had suffered a 131-46 defeat.Head coach Shamsher Basha didn’t dwell on the scoreline. Instead, he identified the problem straight up. “Yes, endurance was an issue,” Basha told Timesofindia.com.His point guard, Fyodor Prem Athithan, noticed something even more fundamental.“They were pressing full court,” he said. “Back in India, there was no full-court press, only zone defence. Here, there is full-court pressure, so next time we should be able to handle it better and make the right moves.”
Image Credit: NBA Rising Star Invitational
Former NBA Academy India recruit Kushal Singh reached a similar conclusion.“We know that the other countries are better in basketball, so we get better competition to play against,” he said.Over six days inside Singapore’s OCBC Arena, those were similar patterns. Watching Japanese, South Korean, Chinese and Australian schools compete, the differences weren’t confined to height or athleticism. The ball rarely stayed still whether teams were protecting a narrow lead or comfortably ahead.
Where The Difference Really Lies
The gap wasn’t simply one of talent. It was one of exposure.And for NBA India Head Sunny Malik, that is exactly why tournaments like the NBA Rising Stars Invitational have become so important.“RSI is an amazing platform for high-school players,” Malik told TimesofIndia.com.“It gives them the opportunity to compete against the best teams in Asia. It provides tremendous exposure and allows young players to understand where they stand compared to the best in the region.“For the Indian team that has participated, I think it is a great learning platform and an important step in helping them improve every year and eventually become regular competitors on the circuit.”
Sunny Malik (Image Credit: NBA Rising Star Invitational )
When asked specifically about India’s struggles against South Korea’s full-court press, Malik’s answer echoed exactly what Basha and Fyodor had already described.“I think more practice games in the full-court format would go a long way. Looking at the Indian team, they competed well in the first and second quarters. However, once the game entered the third quarter, they started losing steam, and that’s when they also lost momentum.“Longer-format practice, more competitive games, greater exposure against stronger teams, and increased competition within India can all go a long way in helping them compete consistently at this level.”
Building The Missing Pathway
For much of the past decade, the NBA’s grassroots presence in India has largely revolved around one programme – Jr. NBA. It introduced thousands of children to the game, took coaches into schools across the country and became the league’s biggest grassroots initiative in India. But, what happened after that?For many young players, the pathway beyond school basketball was never clearly defined. That, Malik believes, is finally beginning to change.“We have been running our Junior NBA programme for the last 13 years, and I believe it is a great platform for kids to get exposure to the right style of basketball and develop the right mindset to move up the ladder,” he said.“But from this year onwards, we are trying to increase the age group from Under-14 to Under-16. That gives us a much wider player pool, creates greater competition, and allows more players who have progressed through the Under-14 programme to continue competing in Junior NBA Under-16.“That additional exposure will help prepare them for the level of basketball they need to play if they want to compete internationally.”The change may appear incremental, but in reality, it is part of a much bigger shift in how the NBA views player development in India.With the NBA Rising Stars Invitational now completing its second edition, the league is beginning to stitch together a pathway that previously did not exist.A player can now enter the system through Junior NBA, continue competing at the Under-16 level, graduate into the proposed NBA Rising Stars Invitational Qualifier and, if successful, earn the opportunity to compete against the best school teams in Asia at the Rising Stars Invitational.Beyond that lies another possibility.“The RSI Qualifier… is definitely on the cards,” Malik revealed.“We’d love to build around an RSI Qualifier because having the best teams qualify through a competition brings much more energy and credibility to the final teams than having them come through nominations or selections by the Basketball Federation of India.”The NBA is trying to create continuity, and the league’s ambition is no longer simply to introduce children to basketball. It is trying to ensure talented youngsters remain within a competitive system as they grow older.
When Exposure Becomes Opportunity
That pathway, according to Sheila Rasu, NBA’s Head of Southeast Asia and Asia Marketing, is already beginning to produce tangible results across the region.“I don’t think that’s something for the future,” Rasu said when asked whether the Rising Stars Invitational could become a stepping stone to elite basketball.“I think it’s already happening.”She pointed to last year’s tournament, where scouts identified five girls who were subsequently invited to to Baketball Without Borders, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program.
Sheila Rasu (Image Credit: NBA Rising Star Invitational)
“So it’s already happening. We have scouts attending every year, and we’re already using this tournament as a platform to identify young and promising talent.”Rasu offered another example that perhaps best illustrates what the NBA hopes this competition can eventually become.“Last year, Yongsan High School from South Korea participated, and the MVP of that team went on immediately afterwards to sign a professional contract in the Korean Basketball League. He has now also made the national team.“Daniel Edi was first seen at our event, and then went on not only to sign a professional contract but also to represent his country. There are going to be more stories like that, and we want to create more stories like that.”Edi was drafted by the Seoul SK Knights in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), making history as the first-ever player selected straight from high school through the KBL’s Local Draft Pick system. He went on to debut for the Korea Men’s National Team during Window 2 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers earlier this year. And perhaps with results like the above, will the conversations around college basketball, professional leagues and eventually the NBA become realistic and that long-term thinking is precisely why Malik insists the conversation should not revolve around one exceptional player.
NBA Rising Star Invitational
Strengthening The Basketball Ecosystem
“I completely agree,” he said when asked about the importance of developing coaches alongside players.“Ecosystem development is just as important as player development.“You need the federation, the associations and all the relevant stakeholders to come together and invest in coach development because that’s where the actual skill development begins. That’s where the real foundation is built.“That foundation has to be strong if we want to consistently produce great players from India.”It is a philosophy shared across the NBA’s operations in Asia. “The ecosystem is not just about the players,” Rasu explained.“Of course, the most important thing is helping players improve their skills, but you also need to improve the overall standard of the game. That means developing coaches, referees and exposing more young people to basketball.“The referee and coaching clinics help raise the overall standard of the basketball community, so that as more tournaments emerge, there is enough expertise within the ecosystem to support them.”The difference between India’s representatives and the continent’s leading school programmes was rarely about effort. Velammal competed, fought for loose balls and continued playing with energy even when the scoreline drifted away.
NBA Rising Star Invitational
Malik believes stronger domestic competition will be just as important.“We also need stronger competition at the national level. With some of the changes that are being planned nationally, including new leagues that are being discussed, there may be more opportunities for Indians to connect with basketball and become more engaged with the sport.”By the final day in Singapore, the tournament had produced champions, individual awards and memorable performances.
More Than One Hero
For India’s lone representatives, however, the most valuable takeaway lay elsewhere. Coach Basha spoke about endurance. Fyodor spoke about facing a full-court press he rarely encounters back home. Kaushal spoke about finally understanding where his team stood against the best in Asia.Malik connected those experiences into something much larger.“I don’t think there is just one thing that can bring a large audience to basketball,” he said. “It has to be a combination of factors.“Having the right player represent India on the global stage would certainly be one important step. We celebrate heroes in this country, and we’ve seen that with cricket.“So, having the right heroes, combined with the right infrastructure and ecosystem, will help us build generations of players. We need a system that consistently produces talent, not just one player who reaches the global stage, but many players coming through regularly.”
NBA’s roadmap for Indian basketball (Image: NBA Rising Star Invitational)
