Satnam Singh, Mavericks C, Becomes 1st Indian-Born Player Selected in NBA Draft

Satnam Singh became the first Indian-born player drafted into the NBA on Thursday night after the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the 52nd overall pick in the 2015 draft.

The NBA draft posted a photo of Singh shortly after he heard his name called:

The Mavs shared a Vine of team owner Mark Cuban addressing the media:

Upon moving to the United States, Singh joined the IMG Academy and averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game for the post-graduate team.

Foot Locker interviewed Singh as part of its Draft Suite:

Draft Express posted a video of Singh's workouts at IMG:

ESPN's Jeff Borzello figures the Mavericks were smart to at least take a flier on Singh:

In a profile on its website, IMG noted the 19-year-old couldn't speak English when he arrived in the U.S. Upon becoming more proficient with the language, he was interviewed by both ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated without the aid of a translator.

IMG also provided an infographic detailing some of the interesting facts regarding Singh's journey:

Number of Indian-Born Players in NBA History	0
Miles from India to IMG Academy	8,000
Population of India	1.2 billion
Population of Singh's home village	800
Singh's Height	7'2"
Average Height	5'9"
Singh's Weight	290 lbs.
Singh's Shoe Size	20"
Average Shoe Size	9"

Kenny Natt, IMG's director of basketball, spoke to Shahid Judge of the Indian Express about what drew him to Singh and some of the best aspects of his game:

"

My first most memorable impression of Satnam was obviously his enormous size at 14 years of age. Second, was his warm smile, huge hands, and of course, his bubbly personality and genuine passion for the game. What was also very noticeable was his basic skills set. In the areas of perimeter shooting, touch and inside post moves to left and right-hand, he was above average for such a young and big man with a minimal number of years of formal skills training.

"

Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel wrote an in-depth story on Singh back in May 2013. In it, he recalls Singh's humble origins growing up in India:

"

Satnam spent his first few years living in a mud hut, and the modest brick house in which his family lives today is four miles from the nearest paved road. His father, Balbir, attended school through only the fifth grade and met his wife through an arranged marriage. Balbir is also more than seven feet tall, but basketball wasn't an option for him because he had to work on the farm. He's a former head of Ballo Ke, a village of 800 in the Punjab, where he farms wheat, sells buffalo milk and grinds flour at his in-home mill. "We have faced hard times," says Balbir. "The things I couldn't do in my life, I want Satnam to do.

"

Should Singh suit up for the Mavericks or another NBA team during the regular season, he'd be the second player of Indian descent in the league's history. Sim Bhullar, whose parents emigrated to Canada from India, played for the Sacramento Kings last year.

Thamel ventures that Singh could have a bigger impact than Bhullar on growing the game in India since he hails from the country.

Should Singh fail to establish himself in the NBA, his journey to the league alone will serve as an inspiration for his fellow countrymen.