For Vivek Yeshwant Ranadive, hoop springs eternal

The story goes like this. When Vivek Yeshwant Ranadivé, owner of NBA franchise Sacramento Kings, was 17, he "somehow managed" to get into IIT Bombay as well as MIT Boston. He chose the latter.

That was just the beginning of an ordeal.

Back in 1975, the Indian rupee wasn't convertible. So, he coolly walked into the Reserve Bank of India office in Mumbai and "camped there the whole day" before the governor's secretary let him into the big man's office. "It was a huge room reminiscent of the colonial era," Ranadivé says. He can't recall who the governor was, though.

The year 1975 saw three economists — S Jagannathan, NC Sen Gupta and KR Puri — occupy the top office at the central bank. So, here's what one of them told Ranadivé: "You have got a seat in IIT, but you want to go to MIT. That's fine. Just tell them you want to study nuclear engineering, hardware engineering or some other course that IIT doesn't offer. Once you get the clearance, I will give you some dollars."

Bingo! Ranadivé did just that. He also managed to convince the American consulate to give him a visa. "It was unheard of. Undergrads never got visas," Ranadivé says, adding that he was "one of those kids who never took no for an answer".

Actually, Ranadivé had no choice but to win and excel. "My granduncle, BT Ranadivé, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of India. My grandma was India's first judge. My father was a pilot whom Mrs (Indira) Gandhi put in jail after he advised his colleagues not to fly Indian Airlines' newest aircraft because they were unsafe. My family founded hospitals and schools," Ranadivé says. In short, he was inspired to "live a life the purpose of which was to give something back to the community". He has certainly lived up to the tradition.

Now 57, Ranadivé is "an entrepreneur, tech visionary, author, philanthropist, and sports team owner". More specifically, he owns TIBCO Software Inc, a multi-billion-dollar enterprise that's widely credited with digitising Wall Street, and Sacramento Kings.

"I am a proud Mumbaikar; once a Mumbaikar, always a Mumbaikar," the "Juhu boy" says. Happy to be back in the city of his birth with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and several others for company, Ranadivé recalls the day he heard Neil Armstrong utter those famous words. "It was a transistor radio," Ranadivé says. Several steps and leaps later, Ranadivé is understandably over the moon. "How could they put a man into a box and send him to a rock 250,000 miles away. What brilliance, what imagination! That day, I decided I wanted to study science and technology. So I dedicated my life to the study of science," he says.

A cricket buff to the core — he wanted to buy an IPL franchise — Ranadivé also played kabaddi, soccer (that's what America can do to you!) and hockey.

"My address was 32, Juhu Road. It was just across the beach. The maharani of Baroda lived close by. There was a Lido Cinema (now INOX) and the Sun N Sand Hotel. I had a magical childhood. I loved Bombay, loved Juhu," he says.

In 2010, Ranadivé became the co-owner of Golden State Warriors, making him the first person of Indian descent to own an NBA franchise. In 2013, he gave up his stake in the team, only to pick up a majority stake in Kings. Today, the franchise is valued at $550 million.

Ranadivé has big plans for Kings, who he says will do everything possible, to make basketball the No. 2 sport in India. "That's our plan. That's what the NBA wants, too. We are not here for a quick-fix. It's a long-term plan," he declares. His action plan for basketball in India is "NBA 3.0".

For someone who "didn't know a thing about basketball" but still "foolishly coached" his 12-year-old daughter's school team to victory by making the full-court press a norm, Ranadivé has come a long way. He calls basketball the "greatest show on earth", played by athletes who are "gods".

Not surprisingly, he's a great fan of prime minister Narendra Modi. "I had dinner with him in New York. In fact, my daughter (Anjali) sang the National Anthem at the Madison Square Garden. Mr Modi has energised and galvanised the Indian diaspora. He is a man of vision, values and I am sure he will convert all of that into action and execute his plans. Never in my life have I seen that kind of excitement around a political leader as I saw around prime minister Modi. He will go onto become one of the greatest leaders of this century. He will take India to, what I call, a non-linear path of growth and development."