NBA Recycles Fishing Nets into Basketball Nets to Create Hope for Young Girls

The NBA is making an impact on sea and land by introducing a meaningful initiative, titled, “Nets for Change”, created with agencies Leo Burnett Dubai and Publicis Groupe ME.

Abandoned fishing nets make up 80% of marine debris in India, devastating marine life and their natural habitat. In addition, abandoned basketball nets abound in courts across India, leaving many hidden talents unseen. With ‘Nets for Change’, the NBA started recycling discarded fishing nets to create basketball nets across India, making dreams possible for aspiring young girls.

To launch “Nets for Change” a film titled JUMP tells the story of a young girl, Ananya. In spoken word poetry, she tells her journey of taking the leap out of her existential reality to her deserving reality, much like the nets that got their chance to leap out from being abandoned and neglected to being purposeful and meaningful. We follow her from her learning to play basketball, to striving in her pursuit for excellence and eventually, competing with other young teenage girls like her. 

An original soundtrack titled “Udh Le” (“Go Fly” in Hindi) was composed specifically for this film and is on Spotify too.

This initiative is a dual impact initiative as it aims to revive India’s seas and marine habitats, one neglected net at a time, and it is also enabling young female talents, one neglected hoop at a time.