NBLC Alumni: Satnam Singh
7’2
Centre
From Mumbai, India
Tenure: 2018-19
One of Asia's most high-profile players tread the NBLC boards for the St. John's Edge in their most successful season, bringing with him not just a towering stature but also one of the more interesting stories behind a player.
From a young age, Singh’s height led to many encouraging him to take up basketball, a lesser-played sport in India. Despite initially knowing little about it, at age 10 he was offered a place at the Ludhiana Basketball Academy, one of India’s most prestigious dedicated basketball schools.
It was there that his skills, abilities and profile started to grow. After taking part in the NBA Basketball Without Borders camp in Singapore, Singh was offered a scholarship to the IMG Academy in Brandeton, Florida.
Immigration issues would make him ineligible to join an NCAA team, so instead Singh declared for the 2015 NBA Draft. Taken 52nd overall by the Dallas Mavericks, he became the first Indian player to be selected in the NBA Draft.
He played for the Mavericks in three consecutive NBA Summer Leagues and spent two years with their G League affiliate the Texas Legends, averaging 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in two seasons.
His contract with Dallas not renewed, in 2017 he returned to India and played with the Pune Peshwas in the UBA League. After a string of disappointing results, he ended the season as the league's top rebounder, averaging 13.3 boards per game, as well as finishing with a 30.4 scoring average.
Singh was also one of the biggest stars of the Indian national basketball team, for whom he competed at the 2011, 2013 and 2017 editions of the FIBA Asia Cup. He achieved a career-best 18 points for India in their 81-76 2019 World Cup qualifying loss to Syria.
The announcement that Singh would be joining the St. John's Edge in the 2018-19 NBL Canada season sent waves through all of the basketball world. He went on to play an average 5.6 minutes per game in twenty-six appearances for the Edge, where he shot over fifty percent from the field. He had his best game on February 21st with ten points and five rebounds in a 121-103 loss to the London Lightning.
The Edge finished the season second in the Central Division and after prevailing in a heated playoff series with the Sudbury Five, won the divisional finals against the KW Titans in six games. They reached the NBLC finals for the first time but were unfortunately swept by the Moncton Magic. He left the team at the end of the season and ultimately the sport: in September 2021 he announced his new professional wrestling career, having signed with All-Elite Wrestling.
While not the ending Singh or his team would have wanted having come so far, his presence brought plenty of attention to St. John's in the 2018-19 season and the buzz he helped generate around them would have played a big part in the Edge going further than they had ever gone before.
Picture:Scroll.in
