MUMBAI: The United Basketball Alliance (UBA) has signed Satnam Singh for its season five in India.
UBA Director of Sport in India announced the signing of Satnam Singh, who two years ago became the first Indian national to be drafted into the NBA, as one of the key members of the UBA this season. Green stated, “I watched Satnam play in the NBA during his time in the United States while I was working with the Los Angeles Lakers. We are happy that Satnam has the opportunity to play in India in front of his friends, family and fans in the upcoming UBA Season 5.”
Satnam played briefly for the Mavericks in NBA’s Summer League and spent two years with Texas Legends, the G-League affiliate of Dallas Mavericks. This will be the first time that Satnam will play in front of India on live television when he debuts for the UBA.
Satnam was awarded a scholarship at the IMG Academy in Florida in 2010, and spent the next five years honing his talent to a level worthy of being drafted in the NBA. Satnam made history when he was drafted in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks with the 52nd overall pick.His inspirational life story was the subject of a documentary “One in a Billion”.
This will be the first time India will get to see Satnam play a starting role on live TV in India. With this signing, UBA reaffirmed its commitment towards the growth of Indian basketball by giving the players an opportunity to play at the highest level in India itself.
“I want to play a role in the journey to take Indian basketball to the next level,” said Satnam about his association with the UBA. “I’m very excited to play in the UBA along with the best players from India and abroad. I’ve been working for an opportunity to show what I can do and this will be the perfect stage for me to compete at the highest level in front of India, to continue working to improve my game and to help grow the love for basketball here. I’m indebted to my first coach Dr Subramanian, without whom none of this would have been possible.”
The UBA has recently brought on NBA’s legendary Ironman A C Green as Director of Sports to India last week and also boasts experienced coaching staff in Jody Basye (Director of Coaching) and Jon Kimberlin (League Assistant Coach). UBA has also conducted two yearly US Pro Training Camps where the top players from India were sent to the USA to train.
