Amjyot Singh becomes 1st Indian basketball player to be selected in NBA G League draft, signs for Oklahoma City Blue

Versatile forward Amjyot Singh Gill has created history by making the final roster of NBA G League team Oklahoma City Blue. Amjyot has become the first Indian national to get drafted to the final roster directly from the G League Draft.

The ‘G League’ is NBA’s minor league and a key stepping stone towards making a cut to the NBA, the most gruelling, competitive and popular professional basketball league in the world.

Earlier on 21 st October, Amjyot was one of the 4 players added in the 2017 G League Draft by OKC Blue, as the 103 rd overall pick (25 th pick in the fourth round). 146 players had been enlisted in the draft.

Thereafter, Amjyot reported to team for a week-long camp at the end of which he was selected. OKC Blue opens its 2017-18 regular season on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Cox Convention Center versus the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Now the sky is the limit for Amjyot, who can, down the road, be “Called-Up” to the parent NBA franchise anytime in the upcoming season on short 10-day contracts or for longer durations.Over the last four seasons around 15% of NBA D-League athletes (or an average of 39 players per season) have received a call-up to the NBA.

Apart frombeing a stepping stone to the NBA, playing in the G-League in the long term also opens up opportunities in other elite leagues in Europe, Australia, South America or China. Amjyot was naturally elated:“It is a dream come true for me and I’m blessed to be in the OKC Blue squad. I request the entire Indian basketball fraternity to keep supporting me.”

“All his hard work and perseverance has paid off. We will continue supporting Amjyot as he aims higher,” said Vishnu Ravi Shankar, Amjyot’s manager and Business Head at Pursuit India, the sports management entity that represents him.

About Amjyot Singh Gill

The 6ft 8inch Gill made the entire Indian sports fraternity take notice when he slammed home a powerful two handed alley-oop dunk during India’s historic win over China in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup. Since then, the 25-year- old “Sultan of Swat” has grown from strength to strength. As a ‘stretch four’ Amjyot is a matchup nightmare, able to post up, rebound, block shots, handle the ball and score from the outside.

The versatile power forward went on a scoring spree during India’s memorable quarterfinal run in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, proving himself to be among Asia’s finest hoopsters. 2016 proved to be an equally significant year, as he, along with fellow Punjab baller, Amritpal Singh, made the brave decision of moving to Japan. The duo led their Tokyo Excellence team to the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) Championship.Amjyot in particular, averaged13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game over 35 games, playing 21 minutes per game.

At the 2017 FIBA Asia Challenge, Amjyot averaged 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 32.8 minutes.

Amjyot has also been ranked as Asia-Oceania’s number 1 hoopster in the 3x3 format, after his team Hamamatsu finished runners up at the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Tour finals in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

About the NBA G League

Beginning with the 2017-18 season, the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) has been renamed the NBA G League as part of a multiyear expanded partnership between the NBA and Gatorade. This marks the first time a U.S. professional sports league has named an entitlement partner.

The NBA Development League is the NBA’s official minor league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers and front office staff for the NBA while acting as the league’s research and development laboratory.

The NBA Development League began play during the 2001-02 season and enters its 17th season in 2017-18. There are 22 NBA G-League teams heading into the 2017-18 season, each of which is singly affiliated with one NBA team.

Each G-League team plays a 50-game schedule.The regular season begins in November and runs into April. In April, the playoffs consist of three rounds, all of which follow a best-of- three series format.