<h1 class="centre">On an average Tuesday evening, somewhere in the unassuming bylanes of Hauz Khas in New Delhi, the sound of sneakers squeaking against concrete echoes through the narrow lanes. It isn’t the familiar commotion of street cricket. Instead, a group of twenty-somethings in oversized jerseys and Nike KD 16s huddle around a makeshift court. In 2025, the small B-ball community has grown from scattered metropolitan pockets into a full-fledged movement.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">For years, basketball in India existed in a strange limbo. In school, it was the sport you played when the cricket ground was overrun with hopefuls waiting to realise their dreams—you were essentially bumped off to the side courts. But in 2025, basketball culture stands as a major touchpoint for an entire generation. Perhaps its new prominence comes from the aesthetic it brings along. It started with how it looked, sure — but it stuck because of how it made people feel: seen, styled, and part of something bigger.</h1>
<h1 class="right">The Budweiser x NBA event at the Dome in Mumbai only amplified what was already brewing. A celebrity match coached by basketball legends Gary Payton and Derek Fisher saw a crowd cheering like it was the finals. It cemented what 2025 already feels like: a pivot. Basketball events in India have evolved beyond bolt-on screenings or basic fan zones. They’re full sensory festivals — courtside DJs, fashion drops, celebrity games, art, and meet-and-greets. A cultural export that arrived with the full package: the playlist, the pre-game rituals, the sneakers you clean with a toothbrush. It wasn’t just the noise or the neon that stood out — it was the quiet confidence of a culture finally coming into its own.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">Gary Payton may have put it best when asked about Michael Jordan: “I don’t care about being the guy who faced Jordan. I want to be known for what I did — my own legacy.” The line hits differently in India, where the basketball scene has long been ignored or expected to imitate. But 2025 is about building, not borrowing. These events aren’t chasing validation from the West; they’re creating something original, local, and loud on its own terms.</h1>
<h1 class="left">Basketball in India has quietly morphed from a niche sport into a full-blown lifestyle — stitched into music, fashion, and the way pop culture moves. It’s less about the scoreboard, more about the swagger. Take Ranveer Singh, the NBA’s official Indian brand ambassador, whose campaign #thisisbasketball isn't just an endorsement—it’s a translation. When Singh shows up courtside in loud prints and retro Jordans, he’s bridging two dream machines: Bollywood and basketball. In a country still obsessed with cricket whites and football studs, Singh playing alongside Giannis and Dwyane Wade in a celebrity game gives legitimacy to a different kind of athletic aspiration.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">While global celebrities endorse the basketball lifestyle, the rawest expressions of it live in India’s hip-hop scenes. When New Delhi-based rapper Encore ABJ launched DL91FM, Seedhe Maut’s latest collab album, he did it in a Lakers jersey — a subtle but sharp nod to how basketball codes run through the capital’s soundscape. The project, which unites some of the city’s sharpest independent voices, isn't just rap — it’s hustle, ambition, and aesthetic language filtered through a desi lens.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">India’s sneaker and streetwear scene may have exploded in the 2010s, but 2025 brings in what could only be called a court-centric streetwear economy — where drop culture finds expression on blacktops more than retail shelves. Multi-brand retailers like VegNonVeg, Superkicks, and CrepDog Crew aren’t just selling sneakers; they’re building basketball-adjacent ecosystems. At Superkicks, a half-court sits alongside a curated sneaker wall. “Sneaker Sundays” draw in collectors and athletes alike. Add to that in-store sneaker restoration bars with courtside mini-clinics, where you can re-glue your sole while watching shooting drills on a mounted hoop. Your beat-up Adidas aren’t just cleaned—they’re resurrected, in the same space where you might hoop that day. Not to preserve the past, but to keep it moving.</h1>
<h1 class="right">Still, for all the polish of curated boutiques and drop rituals, the soul of Indian basketball remains rooted in scrappy, make-it-work setups. Kids are painting backboards on compound walls, tying milk crates to poles, and chalking three-point arcs by hand. The jugaad is real — but so is the love. Uneven courts, slanted nets, awkward dimensions — none of it stops play. In fact, it adds something: a sense of where you’re from, and just how far you’ll stretch to shoot your shot.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">On any given weekend, you might see teens packed into a metro train in oversized mesh shorts with no intention of hooping. A barbershop in Jaipur proudly displays Dennis Rodman posters, while 2000s NBA highlight reels loop on a screen behind the counter. A kid sips chai in fake UNC warmups, aunty-approved slippers and socks pulled high. You don’t see fake Gucci anymore—only knockoff Supremes and Chicago 1s. Most of them haven’t watched a full game, but they know what a dunk is when they see one.</h1>
<h1 class="left">We’ve always been good at spotting a lifestyle and reverse-engineering it. We did it with hip-hop. With K-pop. And now with basketball — not just the game, but the whole atmosphere.</h1>
h1 class="full">On an average Tuesday evening, somewhere in the unassuming bylanes of Hauz Khas in New Delhi, the sound of sneakers squeaking against concrete echoes through the narrow lanes. It isn’t the familiar commotion of street cricket. Instead, a group of twenty-somethings in oversized jerseys and Nike KD 16s huddle around a makeshift court. In 2025, the small B-ball community has grown from scattered metropolitan pockets into a full-fledged movement.</h1>
<h1 class="full">For years, basketball in India existed in a strange limbo. In school, it was the sport you played when the cricket ground was overrun with hopefuls waiting to realise their dreams—you were essentially bumped off to the side courts. But in 2025, basketball culture stands as a major touchpoint for an entire generation. Perhaps its new prominence comes from the aesthetic it brings along. It started with how it looked, sure — but it stuck because of how it made people feel: seen, styled, and part of something bigger.</h1>
<h1 class="full">The Budweiser x NBA event at the Dome in Mumbai only amplified what was already brewing. A celebrity match coached by basketball legends Gary Payton and Derek Fisher saw a crowd cheering like it was the finals. It cemented what 2025 already feels like: a pivot. Basketball events in India have evolved beyond bolt-on screenings or basic fan zones. They’re full sensory festivals — courtside DJs, fashion drops, celebrity games, art, and meet-and-greets. A cultural export that arrived with the full package: the playlist, the pre-game rituals, the sneakers you clean with a toothbrush. It wasn’t just the noise or the neon that stood out — it was the quiet confidence of a culture finally coming into its own.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Gary Payton may have put it best when asked about Michael Jordan: “I don’t care about being the guy who faced Jordan. I want to be known for what I did — my own legacy.” The line hits differently in India, where the basketball scene has long been ignored or expected to imitate. But 2025 is about building, not borrowing. These events aren’t chasing validation from the West; they’re creating something original, local, and loud on its own terms.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Basketball in India has quietly morphed from a niche sport into a full-blown lifestyle — stitched into music, fashion, and the way pop culture moves. It’s less about the scoreboard, more about the swagger. Take Ranveer Singh, the NBA’s official Indian brand ambassador, whose campaign #thisisbasketball isn't just an endorsement—it’s a translation. When Singh shows up courtside in loud prints and retro Jordans, he’s bridging two dream machines: Bollywood and basketball. In a country still obsessed with cricket whites and football studs, Singh playing alongside Giannis and Dwyane Wade in a celebrity game gives legitimacy to a different kind of athletic aspiration.</h1>
<h1 class="full">While global celebrities endorse the basketball lifestyle, the rawest expressions of it live in India’s hip-hop scenes. When New Delhi-based rapper Encore ABJ launched DL91FM, Seedhe Maut’s latest collab album, he did it in a Lakers jersey — a subtle but sharp nod to how basketball codes run through the capital’s soundscape. The project, which unites some of the city’s sharpest independent voices, isn't just rap — it’s hustle, ambition, and aesthetic language filtered through a desi lens.</h1>
<h1 class="full">India’s sneaker and streetwear scene may have exploded in the 2010s, but 2025 brings in what could only be called a court-centric streetwear economy — where drop culture finds expression on blacktops more than retail shelves. Multi-brand retailers like VegNonVeg, Superkicks, and CrepDog Crew aren’t just selling sneakers; they’re building basketball-adjacent ecosystems. At Superkicks, a half-court sits alongside a curated sneaker wall. “Sneaker Sundays” draw in collectors and athletes alike. Add to that in-store sneaker restoration bars with courtside mini-clinics, where you can re-glue your sole while watching shooting drills on a mounted hoop. Your beat-up Adidas aren’t just cleaned—they’re resurrected, in the same space where you might hoop that day. Not to preserve the past, but to keep it moving.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Still, for all the polish of curated boutiques and drop rituals, the soul of Indian basketball remains rooted in scrappy, make-it-work setups. Kids are painting backboards on compound walls, tying milk crates to poles, and chalking three-point arcs by hand. The jugaad is real — but so is the love. Uneven courts, slanted nets, awkward dimensions — none of it stops play. In fact, it adds something: a sense of where you’re from, and just how far you’ll stretch to shoot your shot.</h1>
<h1 class="full">On any given weekend, you might see teens packed into a metro train in oversized mesh shorts with no intention of hooping. A barbershop in Jaipur proudly displays Dennis Rodman posters, while 2000s NBA highlight reels loop on a screen behind the counter. A kid sips chai in fake UNC warmups, aunty-approved slippers and socks pulled high. You don’t see fake Gucci anymore—only knockoff Supremes and Chicago 1s. Most of them haven’t watched a full game, but they know what a dunk is when they see one.</h1>
<h1 class="full">We’ve always been good at spotting a lifestyle and reverse-engineering it. We did it with hip-hop. With K-pop. And now with basketball — not just the game, but the whole atmosphere.</h1>