April 14, 2018
It's that time of the year again! The NBA Playoffs are here, and to round-up another fantastic regular season and look forward to the playoffs, Hoopdarshan returns with an enlightening conversation between Kaushik Lakshman, Karan Madhok, and our NBA India expert Akshay Manwani. Hear our picks and debates on the big end-of-season awards and our predictions of which teams could go all the way in the post-season.
April 4, 2018
Over the past few weeks, Gopalakrishnan R. of Pursuit India headed Northeast to cover one of Indian basketball's pleasant surprises: the Mizoram Super League. In Episode 59 of Hoopdarshan, Gopal joints hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to talk about in depth about the MSL's popularity, preview Indian basketball at the Commonwealth Games, comment on the Amjyot-Amritpal situation, and discuss why we Indian basketball fans are the X-Men.
March 2, 2018
Last week, India hosted two FIBA World Cup Qualifiers on home soil, at Bengaluru's Sree Kanteerava Stadium. A "clerical error" of epic proportions forced India to field undermanned squads, and eventually, lose both games to Jordan and Lebanon. In Episode 58 of Hoopdarshan, hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok welcome SportsKeeda writer Yash Matange to blast-off on this strange situation, break down where India went right and wrong in the two match-ups, and discuss the NBA's interest in hosting a preseason game in the country.
January 10, 2018
For NBA fans in India, one of the most consistent voices in the media over the past few years has been of Ridhima Pathak, anchor of the Sony SIX show NBA Around the Hoop. In Episode 57 of Hoopdarshan, Ridhima joins hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to talk about her unlikely journey into NBA broadcasting, her love for the Cavaliers, Steph Curry, and her special khichdi recipe.
December 17, 2017
One of Indian basketball's biggest stars, Amritpal Singh, is breaking barriers as the first Indian to play in the Australian NBL league. After watching Amritpal play first-hand in Melbourne, Hoopdarshan's host Kaushik Lakshman joins Karan Madhok to interview Vishnu Ravi Shankar of Pursuit India on Amritpal's NBL journey, opportunities, challenges, and the future of other top Indian prospects.
November 25, 2017
(A former posting of this episode had an error, which is now fixed, sorry for the error) The NBA has made ambitious inroads in India over the last few years, from the elite level like the NBA India Academy to the grassroots like the Reliance Jr. NBA programme. To discuss this, NBA India's Managing Director Yannick Colaco joined Hoopdarshan in Episode 55, where we also spoke about Kevin Durant's recent India trip, NBA's broadcasting and social media growth in India, and future development programmes in the horizon.
October 22, 2017
This week, India will host the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship in Bengaluru. To preview the tournament for the home team, Hoopdarshan invited India's head coach, Zoran Visic, for an illuminating conversation. Visic spoke about India's preparation, our biggest challengers, lessons from coaching India's Senior Women's team, and coping without Serbian food in India.
October 8, 2017
With the new season on the brink, Hoopdarshan is back with a lengthy discussion on All Things NBA. In Episode 53, co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok are joined by Vince Granata to give thoughts, predictions, and flaming hot takes on the Warriors' chance of a repeat, the future of new-look Cavs and Celtics in the East, player movement, around the league, and a Laker family of Balls.
September 13, 2017
Last month, India sent a stacked roster to the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon but returned disappointed, losing all three first round games. In Episode 52 of Hoopdarshan, one of India's finest basketball players - Amjyot Singh - joins hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to talk about India's performances at the tournament, evolving his individual game, Satnam Singh's role off the bench, and fired some shots towards Chennai cuisine!
August 5, 2017
India's men's national team will be in Lebanon this week to take part in the prestigious FIBA Asia Cup. To help preview our chances at the tournament, the team's Head Coach and NBA veteran Phil Weber co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok on Hoopdarshan. In an informative and entertaining conversation, Weber discussed the players who have impressed him, shared his concerns with the team's fitness level, and took us back to the NBA where he looked forward to a full season with Davis and Cousins in New Orleans.
