Skip to content

7-foot-1 Indian teenager Satnam Singh Bhamara exploring NBA draft options

Grant Halverson-US PRESSWIRE

Move over, Sim Bhullar.

Earlier this season, Bhullar became the first person of Indian descent ever to play in an NBA game. But Bhullar was born in Toronto, and there may be an India-born player in the league in the near future.

Satnam Singh Bhamara, a 7-foot-1 19-year-old from Chawke, India, is exploring the possibility of declaring for the 2015 NBA Draft.

While it's unlikely that Bhamara gets drafted - he's not on the immediate draft radar of ESPN or DraftExpress - he was unable to qualify for a college scholarship and plans to begin a professional career.

"I am doing great, work out a lot," Singh told Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated. "I'm excited for a possible future in the NBA, and I know it would be good for India."

Thanks to his enormous size and potential to break a cultural barrier in the league, Singh has been on the basketball world's radar since as early as 2012 and was profiled by CNN in 2012. He's now working out at IMG Academy in Florida, where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in under 20 minutes for the program.

Singh was a member of the India national team at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, great experience for a teenager. He'll need more of it to warrant a look on an NBA roster, but he's said to have taken enough strides in the past few years that he's projectable as an NBA reserve big.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox