Satnam Singh creates history by becoming first Indian to be drafted in NBA

Satnam Singh Bhamara has become the first Indian to be drafted by the NBA after he was picked by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Draft today.

Satnam was the 52nd pick.

The 19-year-old center is seven feet two inches tall and weighs just above 131 kg — his physical presence on court has been much talked about in NBA circles.

The Mavericks website says that Satnam 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.

“This is something really positive for India Basketball during some tough times… really proud of you Satnam!” former Indian basketball coach Scott Fleming tweeted.

This is something really positive for India Basketball during some tough times...really proud of you Satnam!

— Scott Flemming (@scottwflemming) June 26, 2015

Satnam Singh, Center from India, gets selected #52 by the @dallasmavs! #NBADraft @NBAIndia pic.twitter.com/qZZ63C6HIt

— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) June 26, 2015

With the 52nd pick in the 2015 #NBADraft, we select Satnam Singh Bhamara! #MavsDraft2015 http://t.co/dzh0x1XVsI pic.twitter.com/avhY0S5nzD

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) June 26, 2015

“Singh came to the United States in September 2010 as part of a scholarship program between IMG and Reliance, one of the dominant companies in India. He’s gone from speaking no English to becoming comfortable in conversation,” a Sports Illustrated report said.

Bhamara is from Ballo Ke, a tiny village in Punjab and his father has had a huge role to play in his progress. His father Balbir, a wheat farmer, urged Satnam to concentrate on the game and not on the fields. Balbir himself is a little more than seven feet tall and Satnam’s mother is 6'9".

An ESPN feature on Satnam says: For Satnam – who dreamed of being Kobe – hardly a day went by when someone didn’t say something to him about Yao Ming, about becoming that one big star who ushers a nation of a billion strong onto the world’s basketball court, the giant who becomes the catalyst for creating wealth beyond all imagining.

The video below shows a 14-year-old Satnam Singh in action.