Young cager Princepal Singh became the first Indian to be a part of an NBA winning team. The NBA Summer League crown came from the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. The 6-foot-9th advance made history as the first Indian to be part of an NBA championship roster. The Kings dominated the Boston Celtics in the championship game, claiming the title on Tuesday’s 100-67 win.
The victory also made the Kings the only franchise to win the Summer League titles multiple times. In the last 4:08 minutes of the game, Princepal played and placed his name next to Satnam Singh Bhamara.
Princepal concluded with two points scoring the last Kings bucket, which took them to 100, and a rebound.
Exactly one week after he made his brief yet landmark debut at the Summer League, the 20-year-old comes into the championship game.
“Lifting a trophy in America is a special feeling for me. This is the first time ever that I have won something in the mecca of basketball. Winning an NBA trophy at any level and becoming the first Indian to do so is like a dream. I still feel that I am living in a dream. I lifted something very precious,” Princepal told in an interview.
The basketball player Princepal, an NBA Academy India student, completed the game with two points – the final bucket of Kings was picked up at 100, winning a rebound as well.
Singh was selected for a three-year bursary in America in an open trial at the SAI training centre. His application for a visa was however rejected and his training continued at the NBA Academy in Noida. Meanwhile, Princepal, the first NBA-Summer League Indian to make his debut, believes that his trip was nothing less than a “dream.”
“They play against the top players in the Summer League is a great experience. All of them are NBA players drawn up. My coach asked me to play hard, told me I should concentrate on my match, “he said.
Princepal also received a call up from Canberra’s NBA Global Academy. He led Punjab to the Junior national championship title in October 2019. In the tournament, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). At the Khelo India Youth Games (under-21) in 2020, Princepal helped Punjab to secure gold as well.