Washington: Indian American software magnate Vivek Ranadive, who has become the first person of Indian descent to become the owner of a major US basketball team, plans to build the Sacramento Kings into a global brand.
"It's going to be exciting," he told the USA Today after securing an agreement to buy 65 percent of the Kings from the Maloof family for a National Basketball Association (NBA) league-record valuation of $535 million. "We're going to build a global brand with the Kings. We're going to give the fans the product that they deserve," the minority owner of Golden State Warriors said on achieving his longtime goal.
The development came just a day after NBA owners officially rejected a bid by the Maloofs, who have owned the team since 1998, to relocate the Kings from Sacramento, California, to Seattle, Washington. "It's a little bittersweet, obviously because I'm a huge Warriors fan and I have a lot of friends here," Ranadive told USA Today Sports. "I'm very, very excited to start the new (challenge)."
Ranadive, who left India as a 17-year-old to attend MIT and later founded his $4 billion company in Silicon Valley, Tibco, has the sort of competitiveness and deep pockets that could lead one of the league's most poorly run franchises back to respectability, the USA Today said. NBA Commissioner David Stern has made a concerted effort of late to grow the game in Ranadive's native India, where "basketball is but a blip on their sporting
11:14 PM, May 17, 2013
Miami Heat forward LeBron James was named the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player for the 2012-13 season on Sunday. It was the fourth time in five years that the 28-year-old James had won the game's most prestigious individual award, elevating him among the sport's greatest players. Only four other players - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain - have won the trophy at least four times....
09:08 AM, May 06, 2013
Jason Collins, a veteran center in the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced on Monday that he was gay, becoming the first active player from any US professional sports league to publicly reveal his homosexuality. Collins, a free agent who played with the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics during the NBA's 2012-13 regular season, made the announcement in an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Monday. "I didn't set...
11:27 PM, Apr 29, 2013
Los Angeles: A judge has decided to dissolve the 72-day-old marriage of Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Basketball player Kris Humphries. The divorce case will be finalized once the papers are prepared and signed by officials, reported Ace Showbiz. The verdict of the court was declared yesterday while the formalities of the divorce are expected to be completed by June, 19. 28-year-old basketball player failed to show up in...
06:19 PM, Apr 20, 2013
"We are here to promote the game at the grossroot and neighbourhood level," said NBA commissioner David Stern, who is visiting India. ...
10:25 AM, Apr 11, 2013
David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA since 1984 plans to make basketball more widely followed in India. On his first visit to the country, the NBA boss says he is confident the league will find greater acceptance in times to come. ...
08:54 PM, Apr 10, 2013
Mumbai: With an increasing number of foreign players making to the top in the professional basketball league, National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern Monday said an Indian hoopster could be seen playing in the league in the next five years. "We already had a woman (Geetu Anna Jose) try out for WNBA and we would expect to have men and women showing up for each of our professional leagues....
06:38 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Raptors rookie guard Terrence Ross made his first career National Basketball Association (NBA) start in the team's 100-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. ...
02:22 PM, Mar 11, 2013
CNN-IBN sports editor Gaurav Kalra recalls his 2013 NBA All-Star weekend in Houston last month. ...
04:53 PM, Mar 02, 2013
Amazing shots from a kid between 18 and 24 months old. He began shooting baskets shortly after learning to walk. ...
08:51 PM, Feb 08, 2013
Luc Longley, who plied his trade for Chicago Bulls, shares his journey in NBA in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN. ...
09:28 PM, Oct 16, 2012
New York: Forget about Maria Sharapova's tennis, which is going quite well at the moment. She dropped a bit of off-court news at the US Open on Friday, saying she's no longer engaged to professional basketball player Sasha Vujacic. At her postmatch news conference following a 6-1, 6-1 victory over NCAA runner-up Mallory Burdette to reach the fourth round, four-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova said her relationship with Vujacic has...
04:01 PM, Sep 01, 2012
London: The United States beat an inspired Spain 107-100 in a fast-paced match to win the Olympic gold medal in men's basketball at North Greenwich Arena on Sunday. With Kevin Durant leading the way with 30 points, the US retained their Olympic title in a rematch of their closely-fought 2008 final in Beijing. Both teams pushed the ball upcourt in non-stop action to the roaring delight of the 20,000 fans...
11:26 PM, Aug 12, 2012
London: Kevin Durant scored 19 points, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James added 18 apiece and the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team pushed aside Argentina 109-83 on Friday in the semi-finals. The U.S. will play Spain for the gold medal " a rematch of the final at the Beijing Games won by the Americans four years ago. With James doing a little of everything, the Americans finally pulled away in the...
02:44 AM, Aug 11, 2012
London: As the shot fell through the net, Kobe Bryant held up three fingers on each hand. It was his third straight 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, enough for the U.S. men's Olympic team to finally put away stubborn Australia. Yes, all's fine with Bryant, and the Americans' gold medal hopes, as well. Bryant silenced his critics and broke open a tight game with six 3-pointers in the second half...
09:47 AM, Aug 09, 2012
New Delhi: The keyboard/mouse has been bearing the brunt of the efforts to get a three-star score playing Google's interactive basketball doodle. But getting those three stars and that celebratory image to share on Google+ is not a cakewalk. But then it also isn't that difficult. Here's what you need to do to get the scoreboard constantly moving and moving fast enough before the timer reaches zero: 1. The interactive...
12:43 PM, Aug 08, 2012
London: Three games from gold, the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team believes its best is yet to come. First up is Australia in the quarterfinal round, though Wednesday's game, and each one after that, may as well go by another name to the Americans. "Game 7," forward Kevin Durant said. "Every game is Game 7. Most of the guys here have been in those situations." The Americans have two choices:...
10:48 AM, Aug 08, 2012
London: The French women's basketball team roared back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to overtake the Czech Republic 71-68 on Tuesday, advancing to the semi-finals of the Olympic tournament. Led by the inspirational play of point guard Celine Dumerc, France came back after trailing 55-44, taking a 67-65 lead they would not relinquished on a three-pointer by Dumerc with a minute to play and stayed alive in...
08:46 AM, Aug 08, 2012
New Delhi: Work hours across the globe are at stake again with Google's second playable doodle during the ongoing London Olympics 2012. Following its interactive hurdles doodle, Google has posted a shoot and score London 2012 basketball doodle. The interactive doodle lets users shoot baskets using the space bar or by holding and releasing the left mouse key. The longer you hold down the key the more power you get...
06:20 AM, Aug 08, 2012
