Sim Bhullar signed by Sacramento Kings – aims to be first Indian in NBA.
NBA rumours are afloat that Sim Bhullar will be the first Indian player to be drafted within the NBA. The seven-foot-five Indo-Canadian, bypassed in Thursday’s NBA draft, will join the Sacramento Kings summer league team, according to reports.
Bhullar was the tallest player in the 2014 NBA draft held on June 26. The 21-year-old underdog hails from Toronto, Ont. Bhullar’s parents are Indo-Canadian Sikhs from Punjab.
The former New Mexico State University center is a two-time WAC Tournament MVP, averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game during his time with the Aggies. He was then voted to the league’s all-defensive team.
New Mexico State’s record for blocked shots in a single season was 58, by Ronald Grant in 1973-74. When Bhullar joined, he changed the record to 85 as a freshman, and then 101 as a sophomore.
Marvin Menzies, the New Mexico State coach, showed his support for Bhullar by saying, “We are 100 percent supportive of his decision to play professionally. He has had an unbelievable impact on this program. We will always be thankful for the time he spent here.” He became infamous within the college basketball circles for his large size, with his height, as well as weighing in at about 360 pounds.
While in conversation about the NBA draft with CBC News, Bhullar said that he wouldn’t be getting any sleep as he waited for the draft to get underway Thursday and hopefully for his name to be called. He was not listed among the top 100 players ranked by ESPN's Chad Ford (subscription required), while DraftExpress had him 73rd—well out of the 60-player range selected at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
On June 27, David Aldrige of TNT tweeted, “New Mexico State’s massive center Sim Bhullar will sign with the Kings, per agent Mike George.” If reports are true, Bhullar will be making history as both the tallest player in the league, as well as the first person of South Asian decent to join the NBA.
Bhullar was undrafted, yet invited to play for the Sacramento Kings in July, which could lead him to sign a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Kings.
Vivek Ranadivé, the owner of the Kings, is the NBA’S first Indian-born majority owner who would like to see the game of basketball grow in India, meaning that Bhullar would be a great candidate to represent the Indian community in the game of basketball as the first player of Indian descent within the league.
Former Aggie guard Billy Keys said, “I knew (Bhullar) would be picked because at 7'5", he is too much of a project for a team not to put him on a summer league team. If he were to do well in a training camp, a team could send him to the D-League (the NBA Developmental League) where he could develop and get called up.”
Video courtesy of Bleacher Report
Sim Bhullar will play with the Kings from July 11 – 21 in the Samsung NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Featured Image: utsandiego
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