Sim Bhullar, who became the first Indian-origin hoopster to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), on Monday said he is confident of getting a new contract in the next season at the United States-based cash-rich competition.
The seven-foot five-inch Toronto-born Bhullar on April 2 signed a 10-day contract with the NBA team Sacramento Kings.
The 22-year-old's much hyped debut lasted only 16 seconds and he got a total playing time of two minutes and 41 seconds.
"Sky is the limit for me as long as I work hard. I am improving on every front. It is the biggest league in the world so you have to improve," Bhullar said at a clinic organised by NBA and Reliance Foundation here.
"You have to improve on court, off court, your diet. I am confident (of getting a new contract)."
Talking about his experience he said, "I am honoured having played in the NBA. It was a great moment for me. I came into the side later in the season. You have got to earn your minutes in the NBA and that is what it was all about," he said.
He is immensely impressed by the talent he has seen in India, giving him confidence that more players can make the NBA.
"There are a lot of youth here and today (during the clinic) I saw many kids who are really talented. I learned from the early age and that's what these kids have done. And they need to get the right training and work hard," he said.
Bhullar was also asked about 19-year-old prodigy Satnam Singh Bhamara, who became the first Indian to find his name in the latest NBA draft.
"Satnam is a great guy. We met recently and exchanged phone numbers. He is a great guy, has all the skills, he has the body. I think he has a great future ahead of him," felt Bhullar.
Bhullar said his Twitter, Facebook, instagram accounts were flooded with thousands of notifications and wishes after he was selected to play for Sacramento Kings.
“I can’t describe the reaction, it was just crazy. Probably day after I signed the contract, I had close to 10,000 to 15,000 notification and most of them were from fans from India. That was on Twitter.
"My Facebook was blowing up, my instagram was blowing up. The support was amazing. I am just happy that I have got chance to come to India and meet those people for all their support,” Bhullar said.
While in India, Bhullar also bumped into Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh, who co-star in Zoya Akhtar’s upcoming movie ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’
Priyanka took to Instagram to share her fangirl moment and captioned the picture: At 7.5 ft, he’s just a bit taller than we are! Look who we just bumped into… @simbhullar2 NBA’s first player of Indian descent! @ranveersingh.
As said by Priyanka, with a towering personality Sim Bhullar stands tall, while she and Ranveer look tiny in front of him. Priyanka even pulled out a chair and tried to match height with him.
