TimesofIndia.com in Singapore: The conversations around the NBA Rising Stars Invitational 2026 at the OCBC Arena in Singapore have centred on players, and rightly so. Who could make the leap? Who might become the next Victor Wembanyama?However, inside a hall at the Iconic Marina Bay Sands, roughly 5 kms from the OCBC Arena, the conversation is different.Here, the NBA isn’t looking for players; it isn’t looking for founders. This one isn’t for the next point guard. It was for the next idea. The NBA was talking about founders, artificial intelligence, sports technology and the companies that could shape how basketball is played, watched and experienced in the years ahead.That thinking came into focus on Thursday when the league announced a dedicated ‘Future of Basketball in Asia’ track under NBA Launchpad, its innovation programme that connects emerging technology companies with the NBA and WNBA.Beginning this September, startups from across Asia will have a dedicated pathway into the programme.Speaking during the announcement, David Lee, Head of NBA Investments, said the move reflected how the league’s relationship with the region was evolving.“In Asia, I think global sports teams are not just looking at it as a market they’re trying to grow. It’s becoming a creator of those innovations that we want to see.“The renewed focus for Launchpad in the Asia region is not just about expanding our geographical reach, but it’s about building a more globally focused, connected innovation ecosystem around basketball.“This is not a one-year initiative or one-time interest. It is an investment that we have decided to make for the future of basketball and innovation across Asia.”The announcement itself lasted only a few minutes before one of this year’s Launchpad companies, Singapore-based Swish Basket, demonstrated its AI-powered basketball training platform.NBA is making it clear that it wants to be closer to where the next generation of sports technology is being built.
(Pic credit: NBA Rising Stars Invitational)
More than an investment programme
Launchpad began in 2022 with a simple objective. Find young companies building technologies that could make basketball better.Over time, the programme has expanded beyond on-court innovation to include media, fan engagement, artificial intelligence and business solutions.Every year, a handful of startups spend six months working alongside different NBA business units before presenting their work during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.Speaking exclusively to TimesofIndia.com, Lee said investment has never been the starting point.“Launchpad started about five years ago, initially in 2022, with the goal of finding companies that were creating exciting technologies to improve the game of basketball on the court.“From the second year onward, we expanded beyond on-court innovation to include off-the-court business-focused companies as well.“The primary goal is to identify companies that can help us innovate.“At the end of the programme, there’s also an equity component. After Demo Day, we decide whether we want to invest in a company. If we do, we will continue supporting it afterwards.”
(Pic credit: NBA Rising Stars Invitational)
The programme, he explained, grew out of a challenge many sports startups continue to face.Unlike businesses developing products for banking, healthcare or enterprise software, companies building technology specifically for sport often struggle to attract investors because the market appears relatively small.The NBA saw an opportunity to change that.“A lot of innovation in sports was happening, and continues to happen. The challenge for emerging startups, especially those focused on sports, is finding the right champion who can help them continue building what they’re working on.“Because the total addressable market for many sports technologies is relatively small, investors weren’t always excited about these companies, even though their work could be extremely valuable for the NBA.“We wanted to become more active in that space. We wanted to help these companies gain exposure through the NBA so that our use case would make them more attractive to other investors and the broader ecosystem.”For young companies, that validation can often be as valuable as funding itself.Just as important, Lee believes, is attracting founders who genuinely care about the sport rather than simply seeing another business opportunity.Asked what has surprised him most since Launchpad began, his answer wasn’t about technology or investment. It was about the people behind the ideas.“What has amazed me is the amount of passion people have for wanting to change the game,“People genuinely love what basketball has given them. It means different things to different people, and they want to help improve it in ways that enhance the experience for their families, friends and fellow fans.“We receive hundreds of applications every year, and it’s always exciting to see entirely new concepts coming in again the following year.”That passion, Lee believes, is often what separates a good technology company from one capable of making a lasting impact on the game.
(Pic credit: NBA Rising Stars Invitational)
The business of making basketball better
The technologies entering Launchpad are solving very different problems. Some are helping players, others are helping coaches, broadcasters or medical staff and increasingly, they are also changing how fans experience the NBA.Earlier in the day, during a panel discussion on AI and the Business of Sports, Lee pointed to technologies the league is already working with.From WSC Sports, which automatically creates game highlights, to Fastbreak.ai, which helps build schedules, and Launchpad companies such as SkillCorner and Springbok Analytics, which focus on player tracking and injury analysis, artificial intelligence is quietly becoming part of everyday NBA operations.Yet Lee insists the technology itself is never the objective. The game is.Lee, however, rejected the suggestion that basketball’s next revolution would come from engineers rather than players.“I don’t think that statement is entirely true,” Lee told Timesofindia.com.“On the court, players will always remain central. The level of competition, talent and skill among today’s players is incredible, and technology will continue helping them reach levels that may never have been achievable before.“That said, when it comes to fan experience, technology is absolutely going to transform how people experience the game.“The ability to hyper-personalise the viewing experience based on who you are is something we’ve discussed for years, but it’s finally becoming a reality.”Lee sees that transformation extending far beyond what happens on the court. The game itself, he says, will always remain the same.Virtual advertisements are already tailored differently depending on where a game is being watched. The next step is making every fan’s experience feel personal rather than generic.“A 25-year-old man in New York shouldn’t experience the game in exactly the same way as a 12-year-old girl watching in Singapore.“I’ve always believed that something is only an advertisement if it isn’t relevant to you. If it is relevant, then it’s information.”That thinking also explains why the NBA is increasingly investing in areas that, at first glance, have little to do with basketball.During the AI panel, Lee cited one example the league is particularly excited about – real-time language translation. Post-match interviews, he said, often lose relevance within hours. Instantly translating them into multiple languages allows fans around the world to engage with players while the conversation is still current.It is a small change.But one that reflects how the league increasingly views technology as a way of reducing the distance between the game and its audience.
(Pic credit: NBA Rising Stars Invitational)
An open invitation to India
For all the talk about Asia becoming a centre for basketball innovation, one country is yet to make its mark on Launchpad.India.Lee admitted the NBA is still waiting for its first Indian success story.“Currently, we don’t have any Launchpad portfolio companies or NBA Investments portfolio companies from India, which is something we should certainly work on.“India has always been a very important market for the NBA. It’s a market where we want to do much more. Given its size and potential, we’d love to have companies from there.“If we can identify strong companies from India, it would become another way for us to strengthen our presence in that market.“We’d absolutely love to. We just haven’t been fortunate enough yet. Hopefully soon.”It is a clear indication yet that the NBA’s ambitions in India are beginning to extend beyond fans, grassroots programmes and commercial partnerships.The league is now looking for founders too.
(Pic credit: NBA Rising Stars Invitational)
The next breakthrough
After listening to hundreds of startup pitches over the last five years, when this masthead asked about that one innovation he still wished existed. The question made him stop for a moment. Then smile.“Really good – and difficult – question. If I already knew the answer, I’d probably start the company myself.”His answer eventually came back to one area. Keeping the game’s biggest stars on the court.“I don’t think the area [injury prevention] has been ignored, but injury prevention is still something that requires much more work.“The longevity of superstar players and ensuring that the best players are available to compete consistently is extremely important to us.“Whether it’s making MRI scans easier or using technology to analyse player movement, identify fatigue earlier and determine the right time for players to rest, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”For all the advances in artificial intelligence, computer vision and analytics, Lee believes basketball still has problems waiting to be solved.The NBA Rising Stars Invitational was built around tomorrow’s players, away from the court, the conversations were about tomorrow’s ideas.Earlier during the AI session, Lee summed up the challenge facing the league in one statistic.“Ninety-nine percent of our fan base has never attended an NBA game in person. So the question becomes: how do we make the experience for people who can’t attend – because of distance or affordability – as close as possible to actually being there?“That’s where technology comes in.”
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