Former Hall of Fame Visitor Now in NBA

History Published on : 6/29/2015
A few years ago a melting pot of basketball players from the IMG Basketball Academy toured the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One of the players was Satnam Singh Bhamara, a 19-year-old from the village of Ball Ke, Punjab.

Bhamara made history last week when he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. He became the first Indian-born player ever selected in the NBA Draft.


His youth basketball team, coached by Ohio native Nate VanderSluis, was made up of elite players from all over the globe – the United States, India, Germany, Guam and Portugal to name a few. On their way to Erie, Penns. from Bradenton, Fla., coach VanderSluis made a slight detour and brought his team to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February of 2012.

Bhamara, featured on the left, poses with his team in front of the former HOF entrance.

At the age of 14, the now 7-foot-2, 290-pound center left India for the IMG Academy as part of a scholarship program.