It was a late start but Palpreet Singh Brar seems to have caught up, perhaps even overtaken, the competition. After picking up the ball at 16, a relatively late age for a sportsman to start a career, the lanky star has, at 22, become the second Indian to be drafted into the NBA Development League.
Following in the footsteps of Satnam Singh, the hoopster became the 11th pick by the Long Island Nets, the development affiliate of NBA side Brooklyn Nets.
“This achievement is not just mine but that of the whole country. I’m happy to have received this chance. I have a responsibility, now that I have been drafted into the D-League, and the target is to get into the NBA. I can’t say I will reach here or there but I will work hard and try to reach my goals,” said Palpreet over telephone from the United States.
The 22-year-old, who hails from Doda village in Sri Muktsar Sahib district in Punjab, showed his mettle by winning the ACG-NBA Jump National Finals early this year before turning his attention to his NBA dream by training in Manhattan.
While he admits the difference in training is stark, the 6’9” star gave cerdit to his first coach, S. Subramanian. “I owe a lot to Subramanian sir. He’s one of the best coaches in India. He has produced so many international players. His training techniques were unique and it’s sad that India doesn’t have more coaches like him. Personally, I’m sad he isn’t there to see my success,” revealed Palpreet.
Huge difference in technique “I knew if I trained here (and missed the FIBA Asia Challenge) I could improve even further and can come back and play for India in the future, which will be good for the national team.
“The emphasis on fitness is huge here. They gave me a programme and my fitness levels have improved a lot since starting that. There is also a huge difference in technique whether in attack and defence. In India, we are lacking a lot in coaching,” he said, adding that his immediate target was to work on defence.
With the dream of moving up the ranks to reach the top basketball league in the world firmly in mind, Palpreet just wants to be the best version of himself.
“I don’t really have any players as inspiration. I don’t want to play like anyone else, I just want to be Palpreet,” he signed off adding that he would represent India if and when chosen for international duty.
