NBA, ACG and BFI bring Jr. NBA 3v3 tournament back across 10 cities

MUMBAI: The road to the next basketball generation is about to get a little more crowded, competitive and court-ready. The NBA, ACG and Basketball Federation of India (BFI) are bringing back the ACG Jr. NBA 3v3 National Tournament, with the 2026 edition set to travel across 10 Indian cities and feature boys’ and girls’ teams in a school-based under-16 competition.

The tournament, described as the country’s largest school-based basketball tournament, will tip off in Ahmedabad on September 24. The city stops that follow are Indore, Kochi, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Prayagraj and Ludhiana. The remaining dates, along with the National Finals, will be announced later, with the finals scheduled for December 2026.

Operated by grassroots sports organisation India On Track, the tournament will allow eligible schools to field boys’ and girls’ teams in their respective zones. The top two boys’ and girls’ teams from each zone will progress to the National Finals, alongside one boys’ All-Star team and one girls’ All-Star team from every zone.

There is a notable change in the age bracket this time. The programme is moving up from under-14 to under-16, putting players at a more advanced stage of their development while retaining equal representation for boys and girls.

Under the theme “Where Stars Are Born”, the shift also positions the tournament as part of the wider player-development pathway, giving young athletes a more competitive platform before their next step in the sport.

Skechers returns as the Official Kit Partner and will provide kits for participating teams.

The scale of the programme has already grown considerably. Last year, the ACG Jr. NBA initiative engaged more than 8,000 players across 2,000 boys’ and girls’ teams representing 900 schools. More than 2,700 games were played across 10 cities, giving the 2026 edition a sizeable base to build on.

The tournament sits within the NBA’s broader youth basketball development framework in India, which also includes NBA Basketball School. The network comprises tuition-based training programmes for male and female players aged 6 to 18 across 13 cities, also operated by India On Track.

For the NBA, ACG and BFI, the 2026 tournament is therefore about more than putting young players on a 3v3 court. With the age group moving to under-16 and the competition again travelling across 10 cities, the programme is widening the lane between school basketball and the next stage of player development.

And with Ahmedabad opening the campaign on September 24, India’s young basketball hopefuls will soon have plenty of time to shoot their shot.