Yahoo Lifestyle G League Select Team lands India's top prospect
Princepal Singh, India’s top prospect, is signing a contract with the G League Select Team.
Singh, a 6-foot-10 forward, is the first NBA Academy India graduate to sign a professional contract since its inception in 2016.
[Create or join a 2020 Yahoo Fantasy Football League for free today]
“We are thrilled to be able to offer Princepal the opportunity to begin his professional basketball journey in the NBA G League,” league president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. “We’ve long hoped that our development pathway for elite high school players would include roster spots for emerging international talent, including players who have participated in the NBA Academy program, and we’re excited to have Princepal forge this new path and develop his skills in our league.”
Singh, 19, and a native of Punjab, India, is the youngest player on India’s senior national team. He has participated in a handful of high-profile international events, including Basketball Without Borders and the NBA Global Camp. In international play he’s averaged 11.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Singh is the fifth basketball player from India to sign a professional contract in the United States.
Singh will join an already loaded roaster led by potential top 2021 NBA draft picks Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga. Also on the team are five-stars Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd, and elite forward Kai Sotto, making up one of the most talented rosters in recent memory.
If Singh’s two years at the NBA Academy in Canberra, Australia — following his stint at the NBA Academy India — are any indication, he could hear his name called a year from now in the 2021 NBA draft.
“Every time I see Prince play in person, I notice he has improved some part of his game,” Chris Ebersole, NBA Senior Director, Elite Basketball Operations, told ESPN last fall. “I think it has been invaluable for him to play and train alongside top prospects from all over the world. You can tell he is not only developing fundamental parts of his game, including his touch, shot and inside game, but he's also picking up intangibles such as toughness, hustle and basketball IQ."
Singh will get plenty of reps in practice going up against some of the best prospects in the country and learning the ins and outs of the NBA game a year earlier than other future draft picks.
More from Yahoo Sports:
