'Satnam Singh Bhamara' stands tall in NBA

Who would've thought a young boy in a tiny village of 800 people would become a hero of 1.2 billion overnight?

Well, such as been the story of 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara.

On Friday morning, a new dawn engulfed Indian basketball. Bhamara became the first Indian to be drafted in the NBA after he was picked up by the Dallas Mavericks. While that may be a giant leap in itself, the fact that he is the first player to enter the league since the NBA put age restrictions in 2005 without playing in college, professional foreign league or the D-League, is an achievement in itself.

That's right, the 7.2ft tall, 132kg weighing Bhamara hasn't played a game of competitive basketball in college, professionally overseas, or in the NBA Development League. And yet, he was chosen as the 52nd overall pick of the draft in the second round.

"The feeling is unreal, but it has happened and I feel that my entry will certainly open the doors for many aspiring basketballers in India to dream big," Bhamara said on the phone from the US after the draft. Incidentally, he hadn't broken the news to his parents yet. "I can't wait to talk to them on Skype," he said.

Not only his parents, the whole of India cheered for the history-making Bhamara. After all, he had given basketball a day of glory in this cricket-crazy country.

"Cricket is a religion in India but now I have given hope to so many kids back home. It's time they took basketball as a sport as well.

"It feels good to now be a role model for so many people back home. So many kids and budding hooplers hope to make it all the way to the NBA one day. It's nice for them to finally have got a hero to look up to after so many years. It's given them the roadway to take up the sport and play for a professional team in America. Yes, it does feel great," he said.

THE JOURNEY
Hero is probably the right word. The journey has been heroic. Bhamara was born in Ballo Ke, a tiny village in Punjab. Ironically, he was nicknamed 'chotu'. There were no basketball courts, or for that matter, even cable television in his village.

Bhamara started playing the game at an early age. At 12, he was sent to the government-funded Ludhiana Basketball Academy, where he spent two years away from home studying and honing his basketball skills. His talent was first spotted at that academy. Troy Justice, the NBA Director of Basketball Operations in India, first met Bhamara at the NBA Mahindra Challenge -- a multi-city, community-based basketball league -- and was quite impressed with him.

In 2010, aged 14, Bhamara was one of 29 Indian athletes who moved to the United States to get trained at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, as part of a scholarship programme. Although the programme was only for three months, people at the academy were so impressed with his hard work and dedication that they convinced him to stay on.

"Dan Barto (who has been with the IMG Academy basketball programme since 2003) was one of the first people to spot my talent in India. He's the one who got me all the way from Punjab to America. I have been under him for the past five years. He's made me the player I am today," Bhamara said.

But the joy of being chosen to train abroad is incomparable to the happiness, rather relief, he felt when the Mavericks chose him.

That too was quite a journey, mind you. Over a month ago, Bhamara had been invited to undergo pre-draft workouts for seven different franchises including the Mavericks. But sadly for him, no team wanted to secure his services. He said he didn't know what the teams were thinking about him.

"There were no hints that one team was more interested in me than the other. I just wanted to get picked, it didn't matter where. Anywhere would do," he said.

PRE-DRAFT NERVES
And on the eve of the draft, he said his nervousness touched new heights.
"I didn't eat a thing. I just didn't feel like it. I didn't even sleep properly," he said.
And what was he thinking when the draft was on and after 50 names, there was no sign of his being called?
"I prayed to all the Gurus and Gods I know before coming for the draft. But while it was on, I just kept saying to myself, bas, naam aaja.
"My mother always had the belief that I would get selected. She and my sister have kept fasts, prayed countless times at the Gurudwara back home to make this happen," he said.
So who does he owe this to?
"I'm here today because of my first coach Dr Subramanian. He was the one who found me and got me to where I am. It was his dream to have a player in the NBA, and here I am," Bhamara said.
And now the Dallas Maverick will have to get used to being a hero, and fitting in with the big boys.
"I've learned how to speak in English and can get around with what I know. The only thing I've got to get used to is being a very busy man.
"Kobe Bryant was my favourite growing up. Now that I have been selected, I have to prepare myself against the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry and all the players I have dreamt of going against," he said.
The dream, it seems, has just begun for Bhamara.