How desi giants Satnam Singh and Sim Bhullar crossed paths in the D-League, and their trailblazing road ahead
– by Karan Madhok / @hoopistani
Something unusual thing happened on a usual Friday night in early February in Frisco, Texas. An NBA D-League game was scheduled in town, as the hometown Texas Legends welcomed Toronto’s Raptors 905 to the Dr Pepper Arena for just another regular season game on their schedule. But the six thousand plus fans in attendance sensed something special about that night, and when the two teams hit center-court for the tip-off, the two giant young men competing for the jump-ball knew that there was much more than the possession of a basketball at stake.
On February 5, 2016, Sim Bhullar of the 905 and Satnam Singh of the Legends started against each other in a historic D-League contest. The game marked the first (and so far, only) time that two players of Indian-origin faced off against each other in an official NBA-affiliate contest. On one end was the 7-foot-5, 160 kilogram Bhullar, an Indo-Canadian who became the first Indian-origin player to play the NBA last season. On the other was the 7-foot-2, 130 kilogram Singh, who became the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA in June.
Bhullar won the tip. All six thousand eyes in attendance turned with curiosity to this contest of desi giants. Meanwhile, thousands of kilometres away in India, many eyes were watching to see how these two trailblazers could chart the course for the future of Indians in basketball.
The similarities between Bhullar (23) and Singh (20) begin with their physical stature. Both are strong 7-foot-plus centers, brown-skinned behemoths on court with natural defensive instincts and a soft touch. Both young men are December babies, born three years apart. And both can trace their roots to small pinds in Punjab, villages in India’s north-western state that gave birth to a larger-than-life hoopin’ gene-pool.
Bhullar’s parents, originally from a village near Amritsar, immigrated to Canada in the late 1980s. Bhullar was born in Toronto, and as he grew in age and size, he also grew in basketball stature. Sim and his younger brother Tanveer (also a seven-footer) played in the Kiski School and Huntington Prep School before both (separately) headed to New Mexico State to play college ball. Bhullar’s impressive two seasons with the Aggies inspired him to declare for the 2014 NBA Draft. He wasn’t drafted, but he did get signed by the Sacramento Kings, run by the NBA’s only Indian owner, Vivek Ranadive. Bhullar played most of his first professional season with the D-League squad Reno Bighorns, but made history when he signed a 10-day contract with the Kings in the regular season to make his NBA debut. This season, Bhullar got traded to his hometown D-League squad – the 905 – where he became a regular contributor.
Singh’s humble story began in the Ballo Ke village, also in Punjab, where his father is a farmer. Despite his growth spurt, it seemed that Singh was also destined to follow in his father’s footsteps, before he was discovered and recruited to the Ludhiana Basketball Academy. Singh’s dominance for Punjab at the youth level caught the attention of the IMG Academy in Florida, USA. Singh spent the next five seasons playing for IMG while also featuring for India’s national squad during this holidays. He declared for the NBA draft last summer, and the Dallas Mavericks made him their 52nd pick in June. Singh has since played with the Mavericks’ affiliate Legends in Frisco.
Both players still have a lot more developing to do to find a steady place for themselves close to the world’s best basketball league. Bhullar, older and more experienced, improved this season, starting 27 of 39 games and averaging 9.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. Singh, still a work-in-progress, stumbled at this new stage, only playing 19 games for the Legends and starting two. In less than eight minutes of action, he averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.
One of Satnam Singh’s starts, however, was on February 5th, where he got up for a jump-ball against one of the few men in the world bigger than him, another lion of Punjab, Sim Bhullar.
Bhullar starred in the matchup, going for 13 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Singh’s 6-point, 6-rebound night came from a season-high 22 minutes. The two players interacted before and after the game, no doubt brought together by their shared heritage and a shared sense of responsibility.
Another D-League season is over, and neither the Legends nor the 905 qualified for the playoffs. Now, as the fanfare settles down, where will the future take Bhullar and Singh? Both of them have to put in the work in hopes for a significant jump in their ability and production to not only stake their place on their respective D-League rosters but also raise their ambitions to make it to the NBA. For Bhullar, the hope will be to secure a full entrée after last year’s appetizer. For Singh, history beckons as he is close as any Indian citizen has been to play in the NBA.
On that Friday night in February in Frisco, it may have been just a D-League jump-ball. But as the ball went up, so did the hopes and dreams of Indian basketball. The only thing bigger than the two giants is the impact their careers could have globally, particularly to the fanbase across the oceans in India and to the Indian diaspora worldwide.
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