After his team had a forgettable season, where they failed to qualify for the National Basketball Association play offs, Denver Nugget forward Kenneth Faried found some time to visit India to meet aspiring young hoopsters at the NBA Basketball School in Mumbai. Suffering from Asthma since childhood, the scrawny kid didn't allow it to be a reason for failure.
"I don't think that (asthma) should be an obstacle or reason why you won't pursue your dreams," said Faried. "I will have asthma my entire life. But I never allowed this … disability to hold me back from achieving my dream of playing NBA."
Faried also had plans to visit the NBA academy in Greater Noida, but a sudden sickness didn't allow him to do so. Talking about the NBA academy, he felt it is a way to show the importance of this country for NBA.
The hoopster said: "I was glad to learn that India cares about basketball, so we wanted to show we care about the development of the game in the country too. Young players can go there and improve themselves. There are coaches to train them and nurture them into better players."
Back at the NBA school, Faried played a match with the youngsters, sharing some valuable life lessons from his six years of NBA experience.
"I was very happy with the kids there. They were enthusiastic about the game; A bit nervous and shy at first,.I tried to open them up by asking them to enjoy themselves. At the end of the day, the game is about having fun," said Faried.
“The game teaches a lot of life skills. It teaches you how to be a leader; how to follow; how to pay attention to details; and most importantly how to work as a unit,” he explained.
Basketball is a rapidly growing sport in India, but it's difficult to imagine it can match the popularity to that of cricket. The Nugget forward thinks otherwise.
"Basketball is not as popular as other major sports in India due to lack of facility. You provide them right place and they will come. That's how it works. People will come and watch the game in numbers if the stage is provided."
The 6 feet 8 inches tall Faried is fondly known as 'Manimal' among his home fans in Denver. Given his tall physical stature, it's not hard to guess why.
"When I started playing NBA in 2011, everyone was like 'Oh! look at him, he is so tall. He is half man and half animal.' That's when my agent named me 'Manimal'," explained an animated Faried.