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Satnam Singh Bhamara is not new to getting attention. Back in 2015, the seven foot two inch ‘giant’ became the first Indian to be picked in NBA draft. The NBA is the ultimate competition when it comes to basketball. In 2015, Satnam Singh was picked by Dallas Mavericks as the 52nd overall draft. More fame followed as a Netflix Documentary was made on him named – ‘One in a billion’. However, his stint in the NBA did not have the impact as was expected.
In 2015-16 season, the Centre position player got 19 matches, starting in just two, in the NBA’s minor D-league for Mavericks’ affiliates Texas Legends. The next season he got eight games, but did not start in any. That was the end of his basketball journey in the NBA.
Opportunities in the national team also became sparse as he played in lower divising leagues in Canada and India. Then his career hit a total roadblock further when in 2020, Satnam Singh was handed a two-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) disciplinary panel for failing a dope test.
In 2021, he shifted his focus completely from basketball to professional wrestling. In September 2021, Satnam Singh was signed by All Elite Wrestling – an American professional wrestling body. Satnam Singh’s first televised debut came in April, 2022. Since then, Satnam Singh has been fully focussed on professional wrestling.
“I failed that time (getting dropped by Dallas Mavericks from their NBA roster) because I did not have the right talent. Simple,” Satnam Singh told Hindustan Times in an old interview.
“If a player gets picked from the NCAA (College basketball in US) he has enough chance to make it to the main team, even the top-10 from NBA drafts has a very good chance. The players in the top 30 can have a shot too. But after that, you can understand what happens to the next players. I was the 52nd draft.”
He added that he has taken everything in his stride. “I don’t get angry now on how things happened after that. I have accepted it,” he said. “I consider the two years in NBA as my college years. Also, the four-and- half years at the IMG Academy in Florida before that, those were my learning days.”
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