India's Satnam Singh works out for the Boston Celtics

Satnam Singh Bhamara

It’s a routine which is followed every year before the NBA Draft but after the NBA Draft lottery is concluded. Every team irrespective of which pick they hold, call draft prospects to their practice facility for a workout. Something similar to a place interview that most of us undergo in engineering colleges when companies come in.

The only Indian among the players who have applied for the Draft, Satnam Singh Bhamara worked out on Thursday for the highly regarded franchise Boston Celtics, most certainly the first of many workouts to come. Standing tall at 7 feet 2 inches and weighing 132 kgs, Satnam impressed all Boston reps present at his workout with his huge frame.

Danny Ainge, President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics, had this to say about Singh:

“He’s a little raw, but he shoots the ball really well, which is surprising. He’s not just tall, he’s also thick. He’s a big, strong kid.”

Singh got the attention from a lot of colleges like Purdue, Pittsburg and Umass but decided to declare for the NBA Draft after he did not receive any scholarship offer from any of the colleges. The Celtics understand that the 19-year-old is a raw talent, one that will need a lot of polishing,but the franchise is keeping their options open of drafting maybe this year or the coming years in the future.

Ainge speaks further on that:

“We hadn’t seen him, and whether it’s this year or down the road, you never know when you’re going to have to evaluate him. He’s humongous. He’s really, really big. He’s a very nice kid and has an interesting story.”

Despite his huge size, Singh understands he will need more than that if he wants to make it to the NBA.

“A lot of people text me every day, ‘When are you going to be in the NBA?’ I tell them it’s not easy,” he said. “You have to work hard and then you go play for the NBA. It’s not easy for anyone.”

Singh who played for a post-graduate team at the IMG Academy in Florida, averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game last season. He comes from a big family where his dad, a wheat farmer in Bhallo Ke, Punjab stands at 7 foot 3 inches and his grandmother at 6 foot 9 inches. He has a number of workouts remaining for the some other teams over the next month.

If the workouts don’t pan out the way he had planned, Singh could withdraw from the Draft before the official date, which is 10 days before the NBA Draft.