BIO: Amritpal Singh was born in Amritsar (India). He comes from a family of farmers. He began playing basketball in 2009, after playing kabaddi as a youth. In March 2010, he joined the Ludhiana Basketball Academy.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Amritpal Singh made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 26 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

After missing the playoffs the previous season, Sydney parted ways with Julian Khazzouh (to Lebanon), Jeromie Hill (to Sunshine Coast), Greg Whittington (to Sioux Falls), Aleks Maric (to Bahrain), Craig Moller (to Melbourne) and Josh Powell (to Venezuela). Jason Cadee, Tom Garlepp, captain Kevin Lisch and Brad Newley returned under head coach Andrew Gaze, while Todd Blanchfield (via Melbourne), Perry Ellis (via Greensboro), Travis Leslie (via Fort Wayne), Isaac Humphries (via Kentucky), Dane Pineau (via Saint Mary’s), Sam Daly (via Chaminade), Adam Thoseby (via Knox) and Amritpal Singh (via Pune) were added.

Singh signed a one-year deal with Sydney on August 30 after first attracting the Kings’ attention at the NBL Draft Combine in April and then impressing at the club’s rookie camp. He earned a place on Sydney’s invitational team for the Atlas Challenge in China, where the Kings won the tournament and Singh finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds in the championship game against Lithuania. The Indian national team captain became the first Indian-born player signed by an Australian NBL team. Gaze said, “Amritpal was a very strong contributor to the Kings offseason program, particularly during our invitational tour to China. His rebounding was a major factor that allowed us to win the Suzhou event, and he also picked up our overall playing philosophies and schemes quite quickly.”

Singh (2 points) made his NBL debut against Adelaide at Qudos Bank Arena on October 7, becoming the first Indian-born player to appear in an NBL regular-season game as Sydney lost 105-96. Newley (24 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Cadee (16 points and 4 assists) led Sydney, while Ramone Moore (22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) was Adelaide’s leading scorer.

Singh (2.1 points across 24 games) spent the season as a reserve centre, with his minutes fluctuating as Sydney searched for the right frontcourt combination. He missed four games during the season, on December 2, December 9, December 21 and February 3, with no injury reported as the reason for those absences. During Sydney’s poor start, his historic signing also became part of the discussion around the club’s roster construction, with media reports questioning whether he was ready to contribute at NBL level. By late October, Gaze had spoken positively about Singh’s improvement, while the Kings also acknowledged they had planned to wait until later in the year to add an import centre when a stronger pool of players became available.

Singh’s best game came against Adelaide at Titanium Security Arena on October 21, where Singh (7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 steal) made three of four shots from the field and provided energy during the second half, but Sydney lost 114-84. Leslie (25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks) and Newley (15 points and 3 rebounds) led the Kings, while Nathan Sobey (25 points) was Adelaide’s leading scorer.

Against Melbourne at Hisense Arena on November 11, Singh (7 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block) made all three of his field-goal attempts in 14 minutes and became the first Indian player to start an NBL game. Sydney lost 108-90, with Cadee (17 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and Newley (17 points and 5 rebounds) leading the Kings, while Casey Prather (22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals) led Melbourne.

Sydney’s 2-6 start and Lisch’s lengthy calf injury led to major mid-season changes. Leslie (12.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals across 8 games, released) was moved on as reigning NBL MVP Jerome Randle (19.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists across 19 games, via Bahcesehir) arrived for the remainder of the season, while Jeremy Kendle (6.8 points across 6 games, released) finished his stint as Lisch’s injury replacement. Former NBA centre Jeremy Tyler (13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds across 11 games, via China) was also signed, pushing Singh further down a frontcourt rotation which already included Ellis, Humphries and Pineau.

Tyler’s stint became another issue for the Kings, with contemporary coverage describing him as “a clear distraction” and reporting claims that he had missed numerous training sessions and struggled to control his emotions during games. Sydney released Tyler on January 9 with eight games remaining, officially deciding the remainder of the season would be better used assessing its younger big men. Managing director Jeff Van Groningen called Tyler “an undoubted talent” but said the Kings wanted to look more closely at Humphries (6.9 points and 3.7 rebounds across 26 games), Pineau (2.9 points across 24 games) and other developing frontcourt players. Singh continued to receive limited reserve minutes following Tyler’s departure, appearing in seven of Sydney’s final eight games.

Ellis (14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds across 27 games) led Sydney in total scoring, while Newley (11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists across 27 games), Cadee (11.1 points and 3.3 assists across 28 games) and Blanchfield (9.1 points and 4 rebounds across 25 games) were the other major contributors. Randle became the first player since Andrew Gaze in 1989 to lead the NBL in both scoring and assists and earned All-NBL Second Team honours, while Humphries was named NBL Rookie of the Year.

Singh’s one-year contract expired at the end of the season and he was not retained for 2018/19. Shortly after completing his first NBL season, he represented India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Sydney closed the season against New Zealand at Qudos Bank Arena on February 18, where Singh (0 points and 1 rebound) played seven minutes as the Kings came from behind to defeat the Breakers 101-86. Cadee (30 points and 3 assists) made six three-pointers and Blanchfield (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) provided support, while Jordan Ngatai (17 points) led New Zealand as Sydney collected its sixth win from the final seven games and finished seventh with an 11-17 record.

Amritpal Singh played one season in the NBL. He averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.1 assists in 24 NBL games.

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