NBA-bound Indian teen prodigy reveals the story behind his name

Indian basketball’s rising star Princepal Singh has taken a huge step towards his dream, after the 19-year-old was drafted to play in the NBA’s G-League. Interestingly, Singh didn’t even touch a basketball until he was 14. He used to play volleyball as a kid, and says there are several similarities between the two.

“Volleyball is a sport where you need to jump well and have a good reach. Playing volleyball has helped me a lot with basketball’s shooting and rebounding. It also helped me time my jumps right,” he said.

For now, he’s happy fielding questions about his name.


“When I was born my parents took me to a gurudwara, where the priest advised them to have my name start with a P. My father then named me Princepal,” he added. His favourite player, he says, is Los Angeles Lakers’s Anthony Davis. “The strength with which he finishes at the basket, how he takes offensive rebounds, are parts of his game that I love,” he said.