Satnam Singh Bhamara first Indian-born player to be drafted in NBA, picked by Dallas Mavericks

CIZfv2IWoAAQ023SATNAM Singh Bhamara became the first Indian to be drafted in the NBA when he was picked by the Dallas Mavericks. He was the 52nd pick.

Dallas Maverick owner, Mark Cuban, welcomed Bhamara saying they now have a billion Maverick fans.

Bhamara is the second person of Indian origin to be drafted in the NBA, the first being Canada’s Sim Bhullar.

In a 2010 profile, Tim Povtak quoted Bhamara as saying: “My father wanted to play basketball, but my grandfather insisted he could not. They were a family of farmers. He had fields to tend. He never got the chance that I am getting now. He is very proud of me, and I want to play this game as well as I can play. That is my task now. Where it will take me, I don’t know. The NBA? One day.”

Well, guess what?

According to www.mavs.com, “Singh, a 19-year-old center from India, stands at 7’2″ and 290 pounds. He becomes the first player born in India to play in the NBA.

“He averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in six games at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships and 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for the IMG Academy, a private boarding school in Florida, this season.”

According to Wikipedia, “Singh hails from Ballo Ke, a village of about 800 in the Indian state of Punjab. He moved to the United States in September 2010 as part of a scholarship program between IMG Academy and Reliance, one of the dominant companies in India. During the 2014–15 season, he averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in less than 20 minutes per game for IMG, the No. 2 ranked team in the country.

“In April 2015, Singh declared for the 2015 NBA draft after not receiving any academic scholarships to play in the NCAA. Singh also marks the first time since the 2005 NBA draft that a player would declare to enter the draft without playing in college, overseas professionally, or in the NBA Development League as well. He then got drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, which currently makes him the last player to be drafted directly from high school, and the first since the league instituted age restrictions on players that someone from high school would be selected in the NBA draft. …

“Singh has represented the India national basketball team at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.”