NBA: Princepal Singh continues his quest to top

It was not long ago when Princepal Singh made history by becoming the first NBA Academy graduate to sign with the G League and cut to 2021, Singh concluded a season full of learning curves with Ignite.

The 20-year old shared the learnings and experience of his journey till date with over 200 youth from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program. "It feels good to try and inspire youth and help them to get on a path to achieve their goals," said Singh, who is currently making the most of the off-season by honing his basketball skills and receiving further education in the US.Though Singh's season was marked with limited playing time, he got his first taste only in the fifth game of the season. The usually confident Singh grappled with nervous energies as coach Brian Shaw asked him to suit up with less than eight minutes left.

"I was going to rub shoulders with NBA-level players, so it was a little nerve-wracking for me," admitted the Punjab native. However, nerves took a back seat when he finished with five points in the three minutes in his second appearance against the Salt Lake City Stars.But the Ignite stint is behind Princepal now and he is focused on building on the strong platform he got to make it to the next level. While Singh is eyeing a spot on a G League team or play with a team in the Summer League, his Ignite teammates Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga are expected to be among the top-5 picks at 2021 NBA Draft. "I'm not sure whether I will enter the Draft this year. But I want to play in the NBA, if not this year, then at least the next year," said Singh.On a trailblazing pathway to date, Singh believes it's been a privilege and blessing to have role models and the interactions with them have had a positive impact on his career.

"Any word of encouragement from senior player was always a great deal for me and programs like Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA allows youth to have those interactions," said Singh remembering his time at the Ludhiana Basketball Academy.The 12-week Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA live series tipped off March 6 and so far, Chicago Sky guard Sydney Colson and two-time NBA All-Star Roy Hibbert have featured along with WNBA players Azura Stevens & Dearica Hamby, Sacramento Kings assistant coach, Roy Rana, WNBA legend Ticha Penicheiro and top Rookie Tyrese Haliburton.

( With inputs from ANI )