NEW DEHLI (India) - Princepal was already as featured as the “Next Big Singh” ahead of the FIBA U18 Asian Championship in 2018. Now, it seems like he is heading along right as scheduled after it was announced that he had signed to play in the NBA G-League next season.

India’s proud promising prospect has been on a rapid rise in the basketball world, so let’s take a quick look back at his career so far.

From Spike to Splash

Similar to many others that have succeeded on the hardwood, basketball wasn’t the first choice of sport for Princepal. He was “hooked on to volleyball” as a 14-year-old and only started taking up basketball when height attracted the attention of the coaches at Ludhiana Basketball Academy.

"When I went to Ludhiana, I wanted to enroll for the volleyball academy, but the basketball coaches took me under their wing, and I just started playing basketball from that day on," he told ESPN.

Coming out of a village in Gurdaspur where no one had even played basketball, Princepal started out by not knowing how to play at all. But once he began to learn how, he just kept getting better and better… at a very fast pace.

"I had no problems in learning the game, even though I had to start from the ABC of basketball. My coach [Jaipal Singh] encouraged me and constantly told me that I was learning very fast," said Princepal, as told by ESPN.

Pride of the Tricolor

It took Princepal only a couple of years later to make a splash at the international level. He was selected to represent the country at the U16 Asian Championship and didn’t wait to turn heads.

In his very first game, Princepal recorded 28 points on 13-17 shooting and 17 rebounds in a loss to Korea. He’d have another big game before finished the tournament with averages of 22.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per game on 55.8 percent shooting from the field.

From there, Princepal kept blasting through the ceiling into higher levels of play and deeper into uncharted territories.

From being a part of the Basketball Without Borders Asia and Global Camp in 2018, Princepal firmly placed himself not only as a highly-touted prospect from India but as a youngster to watch out for from the entire continent of Asia.

He found himself back to wearing India’s national team jersey once again at the U18 Asian Championship 2018 in Thailand and maintained a similar level of gaudy production. After going up against the likes of Korea and New Zealand, Princepal wrapped up his second youth FIBA competition with 15.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game.

Every time he plays for the country, there is no doubt that the many fans of India basketball are fixed on him, specifically the two fans that have witnessed his progress from the beginning.

"They keep track of all my performances through live streaming. Whatever the timing of the game, they have never missed watching me in an India shirt," Princepal said of his father Gurmej Singh and his mother Hardeep Kaur, as per ESPN. "Sometimes when I am home, they make me watch the repeats as well. It teaches me where I need to get better."

Prime Time Prince

His accelerated progress did not go unnoticed and it earned him a spot to attend the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia. Just as he quickly learned the ways of the game in his earlier days, Princepal continued to improve with significance. Those who were closely observing him could see these advancements being made, confirming why he had so much promise as a player.

Even though all of this fast-paced progress, Princepal remains levelheaded.

"I haven't achieved anything in my career yet," he said, as told by ESPN. "I take it one step at a time. Winning the tournaments I enter, getting to Australia when this chance opened up, my goals are clear."

Possibly it’s because of this mindset that has allowed Princepal to breakthrough for what might be one of his biggest years yet in 2020.

During the first window of the Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers in February, the youngster made his senior national team debut in a FIBA competition.

Then, on a late July evening, it was announced that he will be training and competing in the NBA G-League in the professional pathway program for the 2020-2021 season. The program had already snapped up Filipino prospect Kai Sotto earlier and the addition of Princepal will certainly multiply the level of interest from Asian basketball fans.

This is where we currently are today in the timeline of Princepal Singh’s career. If recent trends can be trusted, there’s plenty more to be excited about down the road. At the very least, Princepal is confident about where he is headed.

"I will play in the NBA," he boldly told ESPN.

All things considered, the “Prince” looks like he’s on the right path to a future on the throne as a “King” of India basketball.

FIBA