Sim Bhullar

Sim Bhullar

Bhullar in 2012
No. 35 – Dacin Tigers
Position Center
League SBL
Personal information
Born (1992-12-02) December 2, 1992
Toronto, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Listed height 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
Listed weight 360 lb (163 kg)
Career information
High school The Kiski School
(Saltsburg, Pennsylvania)
Huntington Prep School
(Huntington, West Virginia)
College New Mexico State (2012–2014)
NBA draft 2014 / Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present
Career history
2014–2015 Reno Bighorns
2015 Sacramento Kings
2015–2016 Raptors 905
2016–present Dacin Tigers
Career highlights and awards
  • NBA D-League All-Rookie Third Team (2015)
  • NBA D-League All-Defensive Second Team (2015)
  • WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2014)
  • Third-team All-WAC (2013)
  • WAC All-Newcomer Team (2013)
  • WAC All-Defensive Team (2014)
  • WAC Freshman of the Year (2013)
Medals
Representing  Canada
Pan American Games
2015 Toronto National team
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
2010 San Antonio National team

Gursimran "Sim" Bhullar (born December 2, 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Dacin Tigers of the Taiwanese Super Basketball League (SBL). He played college basketball for New Mexico State University[1][2] and is the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA.[3] At 7'5", he also became the sixth tallest player in NBA history, being tied with Chuck Nevitt and Pavel Podkolzin for that record.[4]

High school career

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bhullar grew up in nearby Brampton[5] and attended Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School in Etobicoke, Toronto before moving to Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, to attend The Kiski School for the 2009–10 school year.[6] That year, Bhullar averaged a near triple-double for the Kiski basketball team with 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks per game. At the FIBA Americas Under-18 tournament in the summer of 2010, Bhullar impressed with his size and performance. In a loss to the United States, Bhullar came off the bench to record 14 points, four rebounds and three blocks.[7]

At the end of November 2010, in the middle of Kiski's basketball season, Bhullar withdrew from Kiski[6] and transferred to Huntington Prep School in West Virginia.[8] At Huntington, Bhullar improved on his conditioning, dropping from 367 pounds (166 kg) to 330 pounds (150 kg).[9]

College career

Bhullar originally committed to playing for Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, but decommitted in August 2011 to play for the New Mexico State Aggies. He turned down Xavier because he learned he was not qualified to immediately play and would have to pay the full $42,000-a-year tuition, which his family was not prepared to do.[10] Bhullar, however, was not able to play until the 2012–13 season because the NCAA denied him an eligibility waiver and rejected the school's appeal.[11] His brother, Tanveer, joined the team for the 2013–14 season, although he redshirted his freshman year.

During his freshman season, Bhullar played 24.4 minutes per game, averaging 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. In his sophomore season, he improved to 26.3 minutes per game, with 10.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game.[12] He is a two-time WAC tournament MVP, winning the award in 2013 and 2014, where he also helped New Mexico State reach the NCAA Tournament.[13]

In April 2014, Bhullar declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.[14]

Professional career

Sacramento Kings and Reno Bighorns (2014–2015)

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Bhullar joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[15] On August 14, 2014, he signed with the Kings, becoming the first player of Indian descent to sign with an NBA team.[16] However, he was waived by the Kings on October 19 after appearing in two preseason games.[17] On November 2, 2014, he was acquired by the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Kings.[18] Bhullar made his D-League debut on December 6 and recorded four points, eight rebounds and six blocks in Reno's 141–140 loss to the Los Angeles D-Fenders.[19][20] On February 22, 2015, he recorded his first career triple-double with 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocked shots against the D-Fenders.[21]

On April 2, 2015, Bhullar signed a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings.[22] Five days later, he made history when he checked in the fourth quarter for the final 16.1 seconds of the Kings' 116-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the first player of Indian descent to play in an NBA game.[23] He scored his first two points on April 8 in a 103–91 loss to the Utah Jazz.[24] Bhullar was not retained by the Kings following the expiration of his 10-day contract.

In July 2015, Bhullar re-joined the Kings for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[25] After appearing in just one game for the Kings, Bhullar left the team in order to join the Canadian national team for the Pan Am Games.[26]

Raptors 905 (2015–2016)

On October 31, 2015, Bhullar was acquired by Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League.[27] In 39 games for Raptors 905 in 2015–16, he averaged 9.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.[28]

Dacin Tigers (2016–present)

On August 26, 2016, Bhullar signed with the Dacin Tigers of the Taiwanese Super Basketball League.[29]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Sacramento 3 0 1.0 .500 .000 .000 .3 .3 .0 .3 .7
Career 3 0 1.0 .500 .000 .000 .3 .3 .0 .3 .7

National team career

Bhullar played for Canada in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship where he averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in five games.[30] Canada won the bronze medal after finishing with a 3–2 record.[31] Bhullar then played for Canada in the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. In six games, he averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.[32] Canada finished in 11th place with a 3–5 record.[33]

Personal

Bhullar's parents migrated to Canada from the state of Punjab in India. His father, Avtar, is 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm) and his mother, Varinder, is 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm). Neither parent had exposure to basketball until enrolling their sons into local youth basketball programs. Avtar himself grew up only playing kabaddi, a traditional Indian contact sport.[7] Bhullar has an older sister, Avneet, and a younger brother, Tanveer, who stands at 7 feet 2 inches (218 cm) and plays college basketball for New Mexico State.[34] Bhullar is a Sikh and visits Harmandir Sahib whenever in India.[35]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "#2 Sim Bhullar". nmstatesports.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ Ugra, Sharda (July 22, 2014). "India, the Next Great Basketball Superpower?". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ Sim Bhullar becomes NBA's first player of Indian descent
  4. ↑ Gigantic Sim Bhullar becomes the first player of Indian descent to appear in an NBA game
  5. ↑ Brady, Rachel (19 March 2014). "Towering Canadian brothers on track to make basketball history". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 Mike White (2 December 2010). "Lineup suddenly shrinks for Kiski School". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  7. 1 2 Luke Winn (7 July 2010). "Behemoth Sim Bhullar a 7–4 showstopper at FIBA tourney". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  8. ↑ Grant Taylor. "Huntington Prep brings in 7–4 player". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  9. ↑ Pete Thamel (16 July 2011). "So Much Potential, So Far to Go for Young Basketball Prospect". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Diamond Leung (24 August 2011). "7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar to enroll at NMSU". ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Aggies working through growing pains". Fox Sports Arizona. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Sim Bhullar Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio – New Mexico State Aggies – ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  13. ↑ "Report: New Mexico State's Sim Bhullar to enter 2014 NBA Draft | CollegeBasketballTalk". Bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  14. ↑ "Report: New Mexico State's Sim Bhullar to enter 2014 NBA Draft | CollegeBasketballTalk". Collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  15. ↑ "NMSU BASKETBALL: Sim Bhullar invited to play for Sacramento Kings Summer League team". Las Cruces Sun-News. Lcsun-news.com. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  16. ↑ "Kings Sign Center Sim Bhullar". NBA.com. August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  17. ↑ Kings Waive Bhullar, Burton, Wear
  18. ↑ BIGHORNS FINALIZE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER AFTER D-LEAGUE DRAFT
  19. ↑ Heslip, Bighorns Fall In L.A.
  20. ↑ Sim Bhullar blocks six shots in his Reno Bighorns debut!
  21. ↑ Bhullar Shines, But Bighorns Fall To D-Fenders
  22. ↑ "Kings Sign Sim Bhullar to a 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Kings hold off Timberwolves behind Casspi". NBA.com. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Jazz rally for 103-91 win over Kings, Favors scores 18". NBA.com. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  25. ↑ Get To Know: Kings Summer League Team
  26. ↑ Bighorns' Bhullar to Play for Team Canada
  27. ↑ Raptors 905 Announce NBA D-League Drafts Results, Training Camp Roster
  28. ↑ Sim Bhullar D-League Stats
  29. ↑ "Sim Bhullar is a newcomer at Dacin Tigers". Asia-Basket.com. August 26, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  30. ↑ Sim Bhullar's profile | 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship
  31. ↑ 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men
  32. ↑ Sim Bhullar's profile | 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship
  33. ↑ 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship In Latvia
  34. ↑ New Mexico State Athletics – Tanveer Bhullar
  35. ↑ Magagnini, Stephen (April 5, 2015). "Region's Sikhs rally behind Kings rookie Sim Bhullar". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
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