Basketball player Satnam Singh never found shoes his size, used duct tape to hold his footwear

At 7-feet 2-inches, Satnam Singh is a huge man for average Indian clothing and shoe brands. The 22-year-old, the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA, wears 22 size shoes, depending on the brand. And it hasn't been easy finding them.

"My shoe size was not available and so I had to cut the footwear in the middle and use duct tape to hold it together," Singh says in a phone interview. "A cobbler near my home [in Ballo Ke village in Punjab's Barnala district] would do that for me. At 14, I was already 7 feet and finding clothes started to become a problem. My father, who is as tall as me, faced the same issue, so he helped me by finding local tailors who could stitch clothes for me."

Singh, called 'Chhotu' by some of his near ones, says he finds it easier to get clothes and shoes in America. "I mainly shop in the US now," he says. "I like wearing sport shoes of different colours — especially neons. I like my shoes to be custom made, so they are comfortable. I also like jeans as they are comfortable. I am most at ease in a T-shirt and track pants. There are times when I have to wear a suit — these also I get customised."

The Dallas Mavericks drafted Singh in 2015. He largely played for some of the Mavericks' offshoot sides, save for a few minutes here and there with the main team. Singh's contract with the Mavericks is now over and he intends to play in India this year. But he has got along several sets of clothes and shoes from America.


"My cupboard now has more pairs of shoes and clothes from America than India," Singh says. "I make sure to keep up with the latest fashion. I was not so fashion consciousearlier, but now I like to look good. I also get shoes and clothes for my father."

Singh says he has started to be comfortable with his size. "I used to be shy about my size, but since being a part of basketball and the NBA, I celebrate who I am," he says. And somewhere, tailors are working overtime.