The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the ACG Worldwide Group (ACG) on Saturday (Feb. 11, 2017) announced top 21 players from this year’s ACG-NBA Jump National Finals. The selected 24 (inclusive of the 3 players, who will be selected in the months prior to the opening of the NBA Academy) will become the first class to receive scholarships and training at NBA Academy India.
The selection of the 24 players at the National Final, held from Feb. 9-11, marked the culmination of the three-month nationwide program that conducted tryouts in six regions including Mumbai, Delhi, Ludhiana, Kochi, Chennai and Kolkata. The three-day camp held at the Jaypee Greens in Noida featured the top 45 prospects from across the country.
“ACG-NBA Jump has given basketball playing youth in India a pathway to make a career out of the sport We are committed to growing the program in the years to come,” said NBA India Managing Director Yannick Colaco. “The 24 players will now have a solid platform to prepare for the opportunity to move into the professional ranks.”
“The final pool of players represented the very goal of the program that was to identify, hone and create a pathway for the untapped talent pool of basketball players in India,” said ACG Director Karan Singh. “We wish the 24 winners all the very best for their future and hope they make the best of this unique opportunity they have earned through their hardwork and dedication.”
The 24 players will get scholarships and training at the NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). NBA Academy India, the first of its kind in the country and the NBA’s fifth elite training center globally, will be fully funded by the NBA and will open in April 2017.
NBA Academies will employ a holistic, 360-degree approach to player development extending beyond the court by focusing on education, leadership, character development and life skills. NBA Academy India builds on the NBA’s existing basketball and youth development initiatives in India. The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has reached more than 2.7 million youth and trained more than 2,000 physical education instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013. The NBA launched ACG-NBA Jump, India’s first national basketball talent search program, in 2015 and provided the top player with the opportunity to attend the NBA Development League National Tryout in the United States.
| Sr.No | Jersey No. | FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | AGE | HEIGHT | REGION |
| 1. | 704 | Manoj | Sisodiya | 16 | 5’10” | Ratlam, M.P |
| 2. | 706 | Md | Ali | 13 | 6’1” | Kolkata |
| 3. | 711 | Riyanshu | Negi | 14 | 6’2” | Roorkee, Uttrakhand |
| 4. | 720 | Amaan | Sandhu | 14 | 6’9” | Mohali, Punjab |
| 5. | 721 | Sejin | Mathew | 17 | 6’5” | Tiruvalla, Kerala |
| 6. | 723 | Virat | Dhakad | 13 | 6’1” | Guna, M.P |
| 7. | 724 | Achintya | Krishna | 14 | 6’0” | Bangalore |
| 8. | 725 | Rajveer | Bhati | 14 | 6’2” | Bikaner, Rajasthan |
| 9. | 726 | M | Shanmugam | 17 | 5’11” | Chennai |
| 10. | 728 | Shaurya | Kohli | 15 | 5’11” | Noida, Delhi |
| 11. | 730 | Prashant | Rawat | 14 | 6’6” | Nainital, Uttrakhand |
| 12. | 734 | Vivek | Chauhan | 16 | 5’11” | Bhatinda, Punjab |
| 13. | 739 | Jagshaanbir | Singh | 16 | 6’9” | Jalandhar, Punjab |
| 14. | 747 | Brijesh | Tiwari | 14 | 6’0” | Rewa, Madhya Pradesh |
| 15. | 752 | Arvind | Kumar | 16 | 6’2” | Chennai |
| 16. | 756 | Robin | Banerjee | 14 | 6’3” | Varanasi, UP |
| 17. | 760 | Digvijay | Shekhawat | 14 | 6’0” | Kota, Rajasthan |
| 18. | 772 | Preshit | Pawar | 16 | 6’3” | Thane, Mumbai |
| 19. | 775 | Suraj | Phathak | 15 | 5’11” | Mumbai |
| 20. | 781 | Parth | Sharma | 16 | 6’8” | Mumbai |
| 21. | 792 | Rishabh | Jaiswal | 14 | 5’8” | Durg, Chattisgarh |
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