The Dallas Mavericks draft pick’s template for success: China’s Yao Ming.
Last week Satnam Singh became the first player from India to be drafted by an NBA team when the Dallas Mavericks chose him in the second round. The second person of Indian descent to be drafted, after Indo Canadian Sim Bhullar of the Sacramento Kings, the Punjab-born center was the 52nd overall pick in the 2015 draft.
Singh is also the latest player to be drafted directly from high school, as a postgraduate, however, and the first player since the 2005 NBA draft to enter without having played professionally, in the Developmental League, or in college.
Nobody was more thrilled about the draft pick than Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who clearly sees in Singh huge marketing potential. “There’s a billion new Mavs fans out there right now,” the tech pioneer was quoted as saying by the Dallas Morning News. On the evening of the draft, an excited Cuban tweeted: “Welcome to the @dallasmavs Satnam Singh, the first Indian Born Player to be drafted ! Represent big guy. Represent !”
The history-making nature of his selection apart, what are the chances of Singh succeeding in the NBA, where the past decade has seen a number of international players becoming legitimate stars? From Argentine Manu Ginoibli to Polish big-man Marcin Gortat, many of these talented foreign players have proved that international players can make it big in the NBA. In the just concluded NBA Finals, unheralded Aussie Matthew Dellavedova was a big reason the Cleveland Cavaliers took two games from the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.
However, the NBA graveyard is full of great draft picks from abroad who just couldn’t fulfill their potentials. Even many top drafts picks from NCAA powerhouse schools and other professional leagues have fallen short in the NBA.
So there is no question that, in order to establish himself as an everyday player and a star in the Mecca of basketball, Singh has to overcome many challenges.
First, coming from a country that has virtually no basketball tradition and having no US college or professional experience, the learning curve may be steep for the Indian. The level of competition in the league will be higher than anything that he has ever faced before.
However, Singh has quite a few things going for him. The greatest being his size. At 7’2 and 290 pounds, he is six inches taller and over 50 pounds heavier than the average center in the draft. In today’s NBA, height and athleticism go a long way. But one thing he would need to do is to bulk up — get stronger and bigger.
The second thing is the Mavericks do seem to have a clear plan for easing Singh into the NBA after getting some valuable experience with the Texas D-League team Legends.
Cuban said after the draft: “The legend of Satnam Singh is beginning. We wanted a big guy. We believe in creating legends in Dallas and we certainly created a legend.” But Cuban’s statement, rather than taking it in its face value, should be read in the context of the Legends team — at least, for now.
The third factor advantageous to Singh is today’s NBA is an extremely friendly terrain for international players, with the number of foreign players in the league increasing every year. In the 2015 draft, there were 11 international players chosen ahead of him.
If and when he makes it to the Mavericks roster, the Indian player will get an opportunity to practice with the Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki, a future hall of famer and one of the all-time great power forwards. When it comes to grooming young players, one cannot hope for a better mentor than the German, who carried the Mavericks to an NBA title in 2011 and won the Finals MVP trophy.
If all goes well, Singh could become the next Yao Ming, a highly beneficial asset to his team, both on and off the court — imagine him bringing a billion new fans from India — having a long career and sitting on a large pile of dough in retirement.
The Chinese center, an eight-time NBA All-Star, played for eight years in the league while averaging 19 points, nearly two blocks and nine rebounds throughout his career. Ming’s current net worth stands at an impressive $120 million.
Like Ming, Singh could become a catalyst in sparking basketball interest in India, connecting millions of Indian fans to the league.