Mumbai, Apr 24 (IANS): National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Harrison Barnes of Sacramento Kings will visit India to promote basketball growth in the country and the upcoming NBA India Games 2019, the association said on Wednesday.

Barnes, who won an NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, will first stop in Delhi NCR on April 28 to attend the Reliance Foundation junior NBA National Finals at The NBA Academy India.

He will then travel to Mumbai for live television appearances on Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 3's NBA wraparound shows on April 30, before returning to Delhi on May 3 to attend the National Finals of the fourth ACG-NBA Jump, India's national basketball talent search programme.

"This trip to India will be a great opportunity for me to get a sneak peek at the local culture before the upcoming pre-season games in Mumbai this October," said Barnes.

"I look forward to being a part of that historic event, and I'm excited to help support the NBA's various basketball development initiatives in India," he added.

Now in its sixth year, the 2018-19 Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme has engaged more than 6.3 million youth in 34 cities nationwide. The programme - the largest in its six-year history - focuses on inspiring youth to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle by integrating basketball into the physical education curriculum of the 7,900 participating schools.