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What's the story?
In a huge step forward for Indian basketball, Amjyot Singh, a forward from the Indian National Basketball team was picked to be a part of the Oklahoma City Blue squad which is set to take part in the NBA G League that is due to start on November 3rd, 2017.
In case you didn't know
The NBA G League plays host to prospective talents who have showcased their talent in the domestic level and have the potential to play in the NBA in the near future.
As a matter of fact, Amjyot had signed his name as part of the contract for last year's draft but was not picked up by any team for the D-League and this year, he was picked by Oklahoma.
Heart of the matter
The wait was long, but in the end, it was all smiles as the hammer was brought down on 25-year old Amjyot Singh's name in the draft, who comes from a sports background with his father Mohender Singh Gill having played national level basketball and his mother Nirmal Kaur Gill a former athlete.
The lanky forward started off with a passion for cricket but persistent injuries to his back meant he shifted his focus to basketball and led Punjab to a title victory in junior basketball in 2010 having joined the Ludhiana Basketball Academy in 2009. Having represented India in the Asian Junior Championships, he made his senior team debut in 2011 and was also picked to represent the Tokyo Excellence team in Japan's D-League on the back of his impressive performances.
Teja Singh Dhaliwal, general secretary, Punjab Basketball Association showered a lot of praise on the youngster and claimed that this was a massive achievement and was confident of seeing his student play in the NBA one fine day.
Author's take
Amjyot's achievement is not only one to rejoice for the land of Punjab but one to rejoice for the whole of India. The sport of basketball has seen the emergence of some fantastic talents and the Indian contingent has gone on to win many tournaments all across the world, highlighting the talent pool.
After Indian-origin Gursimran Bhullar was picked to play for the Sacramento Kings in 2015, this is a huge achievement which will inspire the youth of India to take up the sport and put in good performances to make a mark in the sport's circles.
Guess the Lakers players!
