--- title: Satnam Singh Bhamara Becomes the First Indian to Make It to the NBA description: The big man from a small village in Punjab was the 52nd draft pick, selected by the Dallas Mavericks canonical: https://time.com/3937110/satnam-singh-bhamara-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks-indian-first/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-26T07:27:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:47.976Z article:section: Sports og:title: Meet Satnam Singh, the First Indian Player in the NBA og:description: The big man from a small village in Punjab was the 52nd draft pick. og:url: https://time.com/3937110/satnam-singh-bhamara-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks-indian-first/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet Satnam Singh, the First Indian Player in the NBA twitter:description: The big man from a small village in Punjab was the 52nd draft pick. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Satnam Singh Just Became the First Indian to Make It to the NBA ## Video: 10 Questions for Magic Johnson [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Questions for Magic Johnson](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PNLPzcKX.m3u8) (6:42)  _Published 2008-11-20. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one of the greatest NBA point guards of all time. His latest book, 32 Ways to be a Champion in Business, is on sale now_ by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Jun 26, 2015 7:27 AM CUT by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Jun 26, 2015 7:27 AM CUT He’s only 19 years old, 7 ft. 2 in. tall and weighs 290 lb. He also just became the first-ever basketball player from India to be drafted into the NBA, when the Dallas Mavericks announced Thursday night that they selected him with their 52nd pick. Meet Satnam Singh Bhamara. > [](https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/614283693557972992) Born in a small village in Punjab that has a population of around 700, Singh was noticed while playing at local clubs and [moved to the U.S. in 2010](http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/24/8839977/satnam-singh-bhamara-2015-nba-draft-india "undefined") to train at the IMG Academy in Florida. Given his young age, towering presence and shooting ability (as this video from [DraftExpress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO19TMV6tR0 "undefined") shows), Singh is a player the Mavs will undoubtedly be looking to develop over the next few years. He will reportedly suit up for the team’s Development League affiliate, the Texas Legends. > [](https://twitter.com/TexasLegends/status/614285014805692416) > [](https://twitter.com/TexasLegends/status/614285056471732225) Singh joins Canada’s [Sim Bhullar](http://espn.go.com/nba/story/%5F/id/12642853/sim-bhullar-sacramento-kings-becomes-first-player-indian-descent-nba-game "undefined"), who became the first player of Indian ethnicity in the NBA when he took to the court for the Sacramento Kings earlier this year, in boosting the increasing popularity of basketball in India. And Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knows it. > [](https://twitter.com/DwainPrice/status/614290975670689792) “I’m over the moon,” [Singh said](http://sports.ndtv.com/nba/news/244449-satnam-singh-becomes-first-indian-to-be-drafted-in-nba-will-play-for-dallas-mavericks "undefined") to Indian news channel NDTV after the draft. “I hope this opens new avenues for many more Indian basketball players in the future.” ### The 13 Richest NBA Team Owners  Paul Allen Portland Trail Blazers Worth: 15.8 Billion Forbes Ranking: 26 Garrett Ellwood—NBA/Getty Images  Richard DeVos Orlando Magic Worth: 6.8 Billion Forbes Ranking; 60 Reinhold Matay—AP  Micky Arison Miami Heat Worth: 5.9 Billion Forbes Ranking: 70 Mike Ehrmann—Getty Images  Stan Kroenke Denver Nuggets Worth: 5.3 Billion Forbes Ranking: 84 Doug Pensinger—Getty Images  Dan Gilbert Cleveland Caveliers Worth: 3.9 Billion Forbes Ranking: 118 Mark Duncan—AP  Tom Gores Detroit Pistons Worth: 2.7 Billion Forbes Ranking: 201 Gregory Shamus—Getty Images  Mark Cuban Dallas Mavericks Worth: 2.5 Billion Forbes Ranking: 222 Jesse D. Garrabrant—NBA/Getty Images  Josh Harris Philidelphia 76ers Worth: 2.5 Billion Forbes Ranking: 222 Drew Hallowell—Getty Images  Robert Pera Memphis Grizzlies Worth: 1.95 Billion Forbes Ranking: 293 Lance Murphey—AP  Herb Simon Indiana Pacers Worth: 1.95 Billion Forbes Ranking: 293 Michael Hickey—Getty Images  Glen Taylor Minnesota Timberwolves Worth: 1.7 Billion Forbes Ranking: 327 Ann Heisenfelt—AP  James Dolan New York Knicks Worth: 1.5 Billion James Devaney—WireImage/Getty Images  Tom Benson New Orleans Pelicans Worth: 1.3 Billion Forbes Ranking: 386 Stacy Revere—Getty Images _Read next:_ [_Netflix Is Launching In This Massive New Market_](http://time.com/3936216/netflix-india-internet/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3937110/satnam-singh-bhamara-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks-indian-first/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3937110/satnam-singh-bhamara-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks-indian-first/"},"headline":"Satnam Singh Just Became the First Indian to Make It to the NBA","datePublished":"2015-06-26T07:27:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:47.976Z","description":"The big man from a small village in Punjab was the 52nd draft pick","url":"https://time.com/3937110/satnam-singh-bhamara-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks-indian-first/","keywords":["NBA","Basketball","India","Mark Cuban"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nba/","name":"NBA"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3937110/satnam-singh-bhamara-nba-draft-dallas-mavericks-indian-first/","name":"Satnam Singh Just Became the First Indian to Make It to the NBA"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"10 Questions for Magic Johnson","description":"Earvin \"Magic\" Johnson is one of the greatest NBA point guards of all time. 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