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Sacramento Kings sign 1st Indian NBA player to 10-day contract

By Will Osgood

Mar 27, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Kings 102-88. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Kings 102-88. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Sacramento Kings will make Sim Bhullar the first Indian player to suit up for an NBA team, awarding him a 10-day contract

Never before has an Indian player suited up in the NBA. That figures to change this week, as the Sacramento Kings are calling up Sim Bhullar from the D-League to fill out their roster.

The Kings enter Wednesday night’s games 26-47 and in fourth place in the Pacific Division. They’ve had three head coaches this season alone and overall are a mess.

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All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins sat out the Kings’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, and the team has talked about shutting him down for the rest of the season to guarantee he does not enter the offseason (do they have plans to trade him?).

Hence, calling up Bhullar makes sense for a team which happens to be a complete mess. The 7’5″ Sim Bhullar played his college basketball at New Mexico State, where he was a key part of the Aggies’ team which took the San Diego State Aztecs to overtime in the “second round” of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Sim Bhullar has played in 39 games for the Reno Bighorns, shooting around 73 percent from the floor and averaging 10.3 points per game and grabbing 8.8 rebounds while blocking 3.9 shots per contest.

Bhullar averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game in two seasons in Las Cruces as a 360 pound center.

But Bhullar, born in Ontario, Canada played high school basketball at Huntington Prep in Huntington, West Virginia, will become the first player of Indian descent to take the court for an NBA team.

Officially standing 7’5″, he will also be the tallest player to take the floor in the NBA since 7’6″ Yao Ming last played for the Houston Rockets in 2011.

Bhullar is expected to join the Kings on Thursday. They play at Houston on Wednesday evening, but have Thursday off. They will then play Friday at home against the New Orleans Pelicans.

By signing Bhullar to the 10-day contract, they may not have him for the full remainder of their season, but will have him at least until the 11th. They Kings finish their long season on Wednesday, April 15, just like every other NBA team.

Most likely, the Kings will simply elect to sign Bhullar to a final 10-day contract for the season’s final two games.

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