![]() In the 2017 Netflix documentary, One in a Billion, Singh’s work ethic is on full display. Truly, Singh was a project on and off the court – though a willing one. But he came to the US with little ability to speak English. He enrolled at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Though later in 2020 there was controversy over a drug ban. Starting in 2007, he began to play for the national team, doing so for several consecutive years. Historically, the country’s basketball program has been well below the standards of other countries like China or Argentina, to name two, but Singh was determined to be the first to make it out and into the NBA. Photograph: Nathaniel S Butler/NBAE/Getty ImagesĪs a teen, Singh worked to improve his strength, even pushing a tractor “almost, like, one-mile every day.” As he got older, he began to earn recognition in India as a real basketball prospect. Satnam Singh shakes hands with NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum after being selected with the 52nd overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft in Brooklyn. ![]() His father showed the sport to Singh, who already stood then at 5ft 9in. Born on 10 December 1995, Singh was just nine years old when his father, who himself played basketball as a young man, installed a makeshift hoop on the wheat farm where the family made a living. The 27-year-old, who was born in the tiny Indian village of Baloke, which, as of the latest census, boasts some 1,303 residents, had big goals. Putting in sweat and time and not looking to cut corners along the way. With that foundation, Singh worked to break free of his surroundings. … He just told me, ‘Be strong, get big and never do anything bad so you’re stuck somewhere.’” Because my dad told me, ‘Listen, son, I know what you’re thinking, but never, ever hit anyone in your life. “I don’t want to use that hand on anyone. For the big fella, who was drafted in 2015 by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round (with the 52nd pick), the first-ever Indian player to enter the NBA, his early lessons, before any basketball court or wrestling match, came from his equally tall father. Indeed, the idea of family is paramount to Singh. He thinks immediately of that person’s family, their mother and father, who would mourn them if something went wrong. Because if I did, I’m sure, I’m 100% sure someone would be injured so bad.”Įven if someone is acting especially “annoying,” Singh says, he would never hurt them intentionally. So, I don’t want to use it outside of the ring. “Because I know who I am and how much power I have in my body, in my hands. ![]() “No, never in my life,” Singh tells the Guardian in his low, cavernous voice. ![]() In that moment, Singh knew he had to be careful. But his friend was knocked out cold and wouldn’t immediately wake up. He struck a then-smack-talking friend with what Singh says was merely 5% to 10% of his strength. Back in India where he was born, he lost his temper one day on the basketball court as a youth. Singh knows the strength of his hands from experience. They could, without hyperbole, terminate someone in a blink – let alone a buzzing fly. At the same time, he knows the magnificent power that’s in just his two hands. The 7ft 4in and 360lb former professional basketball player and current professional wrestler is as gentle a giant as they come in daily life. No tearing off wings, no smashing under a frying pan. Still, though, Singh would inevitably play nice. Then, he might give the insect a little love tap or two. Unless, of course, it was his wrestling opponent for a match in front of a cheering All Elite Wrestling crowd. ![]()
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