Adam Silver is giving "serious consideration" to starting a professional basketball league in India within the next five years, reported Marc J. Spears of ESPN.

Silver added that there is a lot of work to be done in terms of upgrading facilities. 

"One of the things we need, though, is more of an arena infrastructure. I think this is where [Sacramento Kings owner] Vivek [Ranadive] was a little ahead of the schedule that we might otherwise have been on. This is a fantastic facility we're in today, but it required us bringing in a court, a scoreboard, seats, locker rooms. And it's relatively small, certainly by NBA standards," said Silver before the first ever preseason game in India, played between the Kings and the Pacers.

The NBA is kicking off the Basketball Africa League in early 2020.

Silver said that he wants to see an Indian player in the NBA in the same time frame.

"I hope that within five years we have an Indian player in the NBA."