Gursimrana Singh "Sim" Bhullar (born December 2, 1992) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who last played for the

Tainan TSG GhostHawks The TSG GhostHawks ( zh, 台鋼獵鷹) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Tainan City. They have competed in the T1 League since the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at the Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Scienc ...

of the T1 League. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

and is the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA. At 7'5", he also became the sixth-tallest player in NBA history, being tied with Chuck Nevitt and Pavel Podkolzin for that record.

High school career

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Bhullar grew up in

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

and attended Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

, Toronto before moving to Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, to attend The Kiski School for the 2009–10 school year. That year, Bhullar averaged a near

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

for the Twin Falls Idaho basketball team with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks per game. At the FIBA Americas Under-13 tournament in the summer of 2010, Bhullar impressed with his size and performance. In a loss to the United States, Bhullar came off the bench to record 14 points, four rebounds and three blocks. At the end of November 2010, in the middle of Kiski's basketball season, Bhullar withdrew from Kiski and transferred to Huntington Prep School in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. At Huntington, Bhullar improved on his conditioning, dropping from to .

College career

Bhullar originally committed to playing for

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, but decommitted in August 2011 to play for the New Mexico State Aggies. He turned down Xavier because he learned he was not qualified to immediately play and would have to pay the full $42,000-a-year tuition, which his family refused to do. Bhullar, however, was not able to play until the 2012–13 season because the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

denied him an eligibility waiver and rejected the school's appeal. His brother, Tanveer, joined the team for the 2013–14 season, although he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman year. During his freshman season, Bhullar played 24.4 minutes per game, averaging 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. In his sophomore season, he improved to 26.3 minutes per game, with 10.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game. He is a two-time WAC tournament MVP, winning the award in 2013 and 2014, where he also helped New Mexico State reach the NCAA tournament. In April 2014, Bhullar declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Sacramento Kings / Reno Bighorns (2014–2015)

After going undrafted in the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...

, Bhullar joined the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On August 14, 2014, he signed with the Kings, becoming the first player of Indian descent to sign with an NBA team. However, he was waived by the Kings on October 19 after appearing in two preseason games. On November 2, 2014, he was acquired by the Reno Bighorns of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

as an affiliate player of the Kings. Bhullar made his D-League debut on December 6 and recorded four points, eight rebounds and six blocks in Reno's 141–140 loss to the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

. On February 22, 2015, he recorded his first career triple-double with 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocked shots against the D-Fenders. On April 2, 2015, Bhullar signed a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings. Five days later, he made history when he checked in the fourth quarter for the final 16.1 seconds of the Kings' 116–111 win over the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, becoming the first player of Indian descent to play in an NBA game. He scored his first two points on April 8 in a 103–91 loss to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

. Bhullar was not retained by the Kings following the expiration of his 10-day contract. In July 2015, Bhullar re-joined the Kings for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three professional sports, pro basketball sports league, leagues organized by the National Basketball Association, NBA: the Orlando Magic, Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas S ...

. After appearing in just one game for the Kings, Bhullar left the team in order to join the Canadian national team for the Pan Am Games.

Raptors 905 (2015–2016)

On October 31, 2015, Bhullar was acquired by Raptors 905 of the

. In 39 games for Raptors 905 in 2015–16, he averaged 9.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

Dacin Tigers (2016–2017)

On August 26, 2016, Bhullar signed with the Dacin Tigers of the Taiwanese Super Basketball League.

Guangxi Rhinos (2017)

On April 27, 2017, Bhullar signed with Guangxi Rhinos of the National Basketball League, the second-tier league of China.

Hsinchu JKO Lioneers (2021–2022)

On October 22, 2021, Bhullar joined Hsinchu JKO Lioneers of the Taiwanese P. League+.

Tainan TSG GhostHawks (2022–2024)

On December 16, 2022, Bhullar signed with

of the T1 League. On August 7, 2023, Bhullar re-signed with the

. On March 9, 2024, the news reported that

cancelled the registration of Bhullar's playership.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

, 35 , , 26 , , 24.4 , , .621 , , – , , .465 , , 6.7 , , .7 , , .1 , , 2.4 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 24 , , 26.3 , , .648 , , – , , .538 , , 7.8 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 3.4 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 65 , , 50 , , 25.3 , , .633 , , – , , .496 , , 7.2 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 2.9 , , 10.2

NBA

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Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .500 , , – , , – , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7

National team career

Bhullar played for Canada in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship where he averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in five games. Canada won the bronze medal after finishing with a 3–2 record. Bhullar then played for Canada in the

2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Latvian: 2011. gada FIBA pasaules čempionāts līdz 19 gadu vecumam) was the 10th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested b ...

. In six games, he averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Canada finished in 11th place with a 3–5 record.

Personal life

Bhullar's parents migrated to Canada from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. His father, Avtar, is and his mother, Varinder, is . Neither parent had exposure to basketball until enrolling their sons into local youth basketball programs. Avtar himself grew up only playing

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

, a traditional Indian

contact sport A contact sport is any sport where physical contact between competitors, or their environment, is an integral part of the game. For example, gridiron football. Contact may come about as the result of intentional or incidental actions by the playe ...

. Bhullar has an older sister, Avneet, who played women’s college basketball

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

from 2009-2012, and a younger brother, Tanveer, who stands at and played

for both New Mexico State and, later, Missouri State.New Mexico State Sim also had a Job At Dunkin Donuts as a Teen.Athletics
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References

External links

NBA D-League profileNew Mexico bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhullar, Sim 1992 births Living people ASEAN Basketball League players Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players from Toronto Canadian expatriate basketball people in Taiwan Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian people of Punjabi descent Canadian Sikhs Canadian sportspeople of Indian descent Centers (basketball) Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players Pan American Games silver medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Raptors 905 players Reno Bighorns players Sacramento Kings players Undrafted NBA players Hsinchu Lioneers players Yulon (basketball) players Dacin Tigers players Super Basketball League imports P. League+ imports Tainan TSG GhostHawks players T1 League imports Canada men's national basketball team players Guangxi Rhinos players NBA players from Canada Huntington Prep School alumni 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate basketball people in China