Yao Ming's success in the NBA, short-lived but significant, sparked widespread interest in basketball in China. Furthermore, India has placed a growing emphasis on growing the sport at all levels.
In summary, that's about one-third of the earth's potential number of athletes that may be involved in the sport. Basketball continues to grow and grow throughout Africa, too.
And despite all of this, FIBA and the Olympics have managed to keep the once-every-four-year men's tournament as an inadequate representation of the sport.