Why Sim Bhullar Will Be The First NBA Player of East Indian Descent

Earlier this year I had written a post questioning the prospect of the Canadian Sim Bhullar and maybe his brother Tanveer Bhullar of becoming the first NBA Player of Indian Descent (Refer to “The Indian Basketball Player Superstar“). I also looked into whether the 7’ 1” footer Satnam Singh would be the one to make the international cross. Looking at the way that these guys move from the few videos I could find, I had said back then that these guys will not be able to become anywhere in the realm of basketball star statues like what Yao Ming did for the image of basketball from China, which made the sport of basketball much more global. However, there has been some recent news which has come out which show that Sim just make it to becoming the first NBA player of Indian descent. However, I don’t expect him to become a basketball superstar, but he will pave the way for the NBA to become much more noticed by the 1.2 Billion Indians in the world, whose main sport obsession has been cricket. Maybe the people of Pakistan and Bangladesh will also notice, and look for their own super-sized basketball heroes, like the Chinese have been doing for the past few years since Yao Ming retired from professional basketball.

First, Sim is like Yao, who is genetically predisposed for tall stature (supposedly father is 6’ 5” (Although Sim says his father is closer to 6’3′-6’4″ by his own admission) and mother is 5’ 11” with 7’ 2” brother Tanveer), so at least Bhullar will not be suffering any type of serious heart or endocrine problems like so many acromegalic giants. He has got a large frame, with an equally large wingspan which is claimed to be 7’ 9” in length with size 22 shoes. To be exact, his college coach has his height listed at 7′ 3.5″ inches, and with the basketball sneakers, his height would be at 7′ 5″. (He was over 11 lbs when he was born)

If we were to be completely honest about it, if Singh was not 7’5” (or 7’ 4” as some others claim) with a 7’ 11” wingspan the NBA Scouts would not be looking at him. However, he has the size, and the wingspan so basketball recruiters and scouts will always give him a chance. In addition, there are some other attributes while make him a potential NBA level player while still being so “raw”. He blocks shots with a high rate, and has slowly trained himself to have a delicate touch for the mid range shot (Watch the Youtube videos). Some people like New Mexico State coach Paul Weir has said that Bhullar has some other attributes besides his size which gives him a better chance to get into the NBA, like his large hands, high level of coordination, high basketball IQ, intelligence, and passing ability. With his immense size, he is a lane clogger similar to what Kenny George (at 7′ 7″) did at UNCA, and will rack up a lot of blocks per game. When he declared for the NBA after his Sophomore year at New Mexico State, his stats were (10.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.4 BPG, 64.8 FG%) which is really decent for a person who is considered so raw and a project for any NBA team who wants to find the next Yao Ming to build their team around, or at least find a wall to block the opposing team’s shots. He has a standing reach of 9′ 9″, which is among the highest of any player that we know of (Shaq’s predraft measurements was around 2-3 inches less, but Shaq’s vertical jump was insane for a man of his size)

Here is where he will need to improve upon, which I feel like can be changed.

His weight makes him very slow. It is his weight and conditioning that is the problem. Sim’s wide frame and incredible weight at around 360 lbs listed on the NBA Draft website suggest that his frame may not be able to take the type of punishment that is expected from the basketball association that is regarded as the pinnacle of the basketball world. When he runs, he looks like he is already out of breathe. I am reminded of how the Tallest Man in Canada Jerry Sokoloski (listed at either 7’4.5” to 7’7”) went from an extremely skinny prospect when he was in his 20s to a now wide 500 lb man who looks like he would never be able to run. These giants put on a lot of weight easily, and keep that weight on unless they have a staff to keep them in the best shape on a daily basis.

In comparison, let’s look at how Sim would match up against some other players close to his size in history.

First, there was Yao. Yao was a 7’ 5” or 7’ 6” player who played for almost a full decade. After being drafted as #1 in the 2002 NBA Draft, he would play before serious injuries to his ankles in the 2009 season. He announced his retired in the middle of the 2011 season. Yao was a true freak. Most guys who are over 7’4” in height have some type of growth problem. Even if they are completely healthy, they are way too slow to be able to move at the NBA speeds.

The other would be Shawn Bradley, at 7’6”, who lasted a down years. Drafted #2 in the 1993 draft, he came in with a lot of hype too, due to his height. Shawn was just too skinny. He played until the 2005 season, but his role slowly decreased over time. He would still be an imposing defensive player, who had incredible blocking records. I honestly believe that the main reason why Shawn, Chuck Nevitt, Manute, or Yao was able to last as long as they did in the NBA was because of their skinny, lower BMI frames.

The others who were super tall like Chuck Nevitt, Mark Eaton, Priest Lauderdale, Manute Bol, Gheorghe Muresan, all did not have the touch or agility to do much. It was their size that got them in but they were often just defensive players who racked up blocks well, which is often what a team needs to hold the opposing team to a certain Points Per Game (PPG) level.

The problem is not his heart, or work ethic, which I believe is strong, which he learned from his father, who immigrated to Canada and worked so hard for decades to provide a better life for his kids. He will do fine there.

It is his body. Over time, the level of high intensity play will take a huge toll on his bones and the cartilages that are between the bones which will absorb the shocks to his body. So many articles written about this kid says that he has lost a lot of weight, but every time I see the pictures, he still looks too slow for the most advanced league in the world.

I am sure that some other country would gladly pick him up and get him to play a few years outside (Think San Antonio Aaron Baynes) before he might come back. The other option is to get him into the D-League or do what Sun Ming Ming did and play at some local team.

I remember it was the Discovery Channel which did a documentary series called Extreme Bodies in the episode entitled “Giants” on the changes in the physiology of the 7’ 2” Indiana Pacer Roy Hibbert which showed just how much extra stress is placed on the internal organs of the body to sustain a body that is about twice as heavy as a normal average adult male. (Other giants analyzed are Dave Rasmussen 7’3”-7’4” and Richmond Edwards (7’5”-7’3”)) Hibbert is not the traditional skinny giant type, and his body has to keep up with the demands of being in the professional basketball world. His heart is twice the size of a normal man’s heart, and pumps supposedly 3X the amount of blood through the vessels each second. Hibbert has been lucky so far, but if his weight increases any further, there will be injuries. (It is already bad now when you consider that Hibbert completely collapsed in the past post-season for the Pacers against the Heat. Maybe he is just too mentally unprepared to play at the highest level and be paid the millions he has been for just being big in life)

The last we checked, the Sacramento Kings were interesting in Sim and signed him up into their team for training, but that still does not mean that they are willing to make room in their roster for him with real play time. He will most likely start playing in the D-League, like 7’ 3” Thabeet Hasheem who is now currently with OKC. There will be much more conditioning to get his weight down. He said in the video we linked that he has already lost 17 lbs since he was at the camp in just 1 month from working out. His shots also look good though. He did not even get drafted into the 2nd round in the 2014 Draft but with his size, the NBA teams will always be keeping an eye on him to see if his skills catch up with his size.

If Sim Bhullar did somehow get any playing time in the NBA, he would be put in the same type of position just like Hamed Haddadi, the first Iranian to play in the NBA, or the former Trailblazer South Korean Ha Seung-Jin. I always regretted that Ri Myung-Hun of North Korea was never able to represent his country and play in the NBA. As for Sim Bhullar, He is a giant who is representing a whole nation, a whole ethnic group. They look up to him, figuratively and literally.

While many people have said that they have never seen a basketball player as large as Sim, I personally have, since I live in Seattle and was in Spokane back in the 2004-2008 years and saw Will Foster who is around 7’4”-7’5” play during that time. I am remind of how so many coaches at the college level would try to lure any tall student to play on the university team (think Mark Eaton) since there is just not that much size and any giant would be able to over power the opposing team since players at that level just don’t have that much skill against people larger than them (most people in the general population are un-athletic with bad coordination to begin with)