Watch: Satnam Singh on the NBA, Kobe Bryant and His Dream Debut
“It can take a year, maybe 2. Or even 3 months,” answers Satnam when asked about when he will play in the big leagues
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He’s tall. But then most NBA players are.
Only, the man in front of me was an Indian NBA player.
The country’s first official export to one of sport’s biggest leagues in the world, Satnam Singh has managed a lot already in his young 19-year-old life.
Born in a small pind in Punjab, the teenager got picked by Dallas Mavericks in the NBA draft(read: IPL auction) earlier this summer. I caught up with the star on his recent trip to India. Watch the video for more.
Q. Are you used to being called an NBA player now?
A. I am happy to call myself an NBA player but right now I am fine with Satnam. But when I play my first NBA game, I would want to be called an NBA player then.
Q. Since the NBA drafts earlier this summer, when you were the number 52 pick for the Dallas Mavericks’ - how has life changed for you?
A. I always knew whenever I would play in the NBA, I would put up a fight. When I got selected, I realised my life is changing. When I met NBA players, my life changed then. I had never even thought in my life I would be playing in the NBA, so when I got picked I was immensely happy.
Q. Are there any of your NBA idols you have met? Any conversations you two shared?
A. I used to like Kobe Bryant, but now I’ve left him. Now I only follow my team-mates. I have met them all, I have played with them, I have done everything with them.
Q. You becoming the first Indian to ever get picked in an NBA draft is a big step forward for Indian basketball. It has a lot of perks, like you playing for the Mavericks. But it has a lot of responsibility as well. You have always talks about ‘opening doors for others’, and now you are here for yet another basketball initiative in India!
A. It is a very big opportunity for me but for the players who want to make their way to the NBA after me, it is an even bigger opportunity for them. I have opened the doors for then, there used to be such a big lock on the doors to the NBA for Indians, but now I have broken the lock and opened the gate.
Now others can see that yes, there is a way to get to the NBA so they can come forward as well and dream.
Q. You are part of the Dallas Mavericks but you don’t play in their first team yet. Have you given yourself a deadline to break into the big leagues?
A. It can take me one year also, two years as well. It can even take three months. But I don’t care. I just want to play - be it in the D-league or in the NBA, I just want to play.
I just want to stay happy.
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