Satnam Singh is vying to become the first India born player in the NBA

Satnam Singh Bhamara

Indian basketball prodigy Satnam Singh is considering the possibility of entering the NBA draft. Singh couldn’t qualify for a college scholarship and hopes to start his professional career later

The 19-year-old has had humble begginings coming from a small wheat farm in Punjab and is already touted to be India’s best bet of making it to the best professional basketball league in the world.

“I am doing great, workout out a lot,” Singh said. “I’m excited for a possible future in the NBA, and I know it would be good for India.”

Colleges take notice of Satnam’s form

The youngster averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks playing for IMG academy in Florida. After an impressive performance, Purdue, Pittsburgh, USC, USF and UMass are showing interest in the lad.

Relativity Sports and WME/IMG, firms who represent Singh believe that it would be best for him to go professional and refine his skills instead of attending junior college.

“I do think he’ll end up in the NBA because I’ve seen his progress over the last four years,” said IMG Director of Basketball Kenny Natt.

“I’ve been in the league and know how guys like Satnam are looked upon. He has size, strength and touch. He has good hands and can run the floor. Those are the types of things that NBA teams value, Natt added.

NBA is considering exploring largely untapped Indian market where only 5 million of the 1.2 billion people play basketball.

Satnam’s journey so far

Singh hails from Ballo Ke in Punjab. He first came to the US as part of a scholarship program between IMG and Reliance.

Singh has shown tremendous improvement in his play over the last four seasons after overcoming knee, elbow and nose injuries. He is ambidextrous as far his shooting is concerned and is also good in defense.

“This is the best route for him to begin peaking at 22 or 23 years old. “He can now focus 24 hours a day and seven days a week on competing with players his size along with expert coaching daily,” said Dan Barto, IMG Academy’s head skills trainer.

The deadline for entering the NBA draft is April 26. Singh can also opt out if there’s little interest in him.

After Sim Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to play for the Sacramento Kings. there is a lot of interest in India about Satnam making it to the NBA.

“The whole country of India is counting on him. He knows this is his opportunity and he’s handling it. He knows that it’s show time,” Natt said.