Sacramento Kings have done something that no NBA team has done in the history of American basketball’s top league. They have just signed Sim Bhullar on a 10-day contract, making him the first player of Indian descent to make it to the NBA roster.
Here are 8 things you need to know about the player.
1. At 7’5”, Bhullar weighs 360 pounds
Sim Bhullar is listed at 360 lbs., which is 30 lbs. heavier than the heaviest *listed* player to ever appear in NBA game: Thomas Hamilton
Sim had already grown up to 6 ft by the time he was 12, which even had his mother worried at one point. But then he started playing for his school, and soon took up the sport professionally, to make her proud.
4. His younger brother is also a basketball player
Sim’s little brother Tanveer, now 20, plays basketball for New Mexico State University. Like his big brother, Tanveer, at 7’3”, is also a giant in his own right.
Here’s Tanveer in action.
Two brothers, one court
5. The other Indian that played a role in Bhullar’s rise to fame
The Indian owner of Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadive, who hails from Mumbai, was instrumental in Sim’s signing. Since taking over the NBA outfit in 2013, Ranadive had often spoken about his intention to attract more Indian players to the league in order to improve the prospects of basketball in his native country.
Sim’s father drove a taxi and his mother worked in a factory when the couple moved to Canada in 1988. Today, they own a gas station. Sim owes his work ethic to the lessons he learnt from his parents as a child.
8. Height is in the family
Sim’s father, Avatar is himself 6’5” tall and his mother is 5’10”. However, Avatar never played basketball as a youngster.
