Princepal Singh Bajwa (Punjabi: ਪਿ੍ੰਸਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ; born 3 January 2001) is an Indian professional basketball player. Listed at 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) and 221 pounds (100 kg), he plays the power forward and center position.
Singh is a native of Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab, India, and grew up playing volleyball. In 2014, he travelled to Ludhiana to try out for a volleyball academy but instead drew the attention of Jaipal Singh, a coach at the Ludhiana Basketball Academy (LBA).[2][3] Standing 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) at the time, he soon joined the LBA and learned how to play basketball from Jaipal Singh.[4] In 2016, Singh earned a three-year full scholarship, worth $75,000, to play at SPIRE Institute and Academy in Geneva, Ohio but was unable to join the program after his visa was rejected twice.[5]
Singh trained at the NBA Academy India in New Delhi for 18 months, before being called up to the NBA Global Academy, a training center at the Australian Institute of SportinCanberra, in May 2017.[6] Singh trained at the Global Academy on a two-year contract.[7] In 2019, he played for the BA Centre of Excellence in the NBL1 for Australia.[8]
In October 2019, he was named most valuable player (MVP) at the Indian Junior National Championship after leading Punjab to the title and scoring 40 points against Rajasthan in the final.[4] Singh helped Punjab capture a gold medal in the under-21 category of the Khelo India Youth Games in January 2020.[9][10]
On 28 July 2020, Singh signed a one-year contract with the NBA G League Ignite, a developmental team affiliated with the NBA G League. He became the first NBA Academy India graduate to sign a professional contract.[11] He played sparingly during the 2021 G League hub season, averaging 2.3 points in four games.[12]
On 10 November 2021, Singh signed with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League to a two-year development player contract.[14] He parted ways with the Breakers in January 2022 before playing in a game for the team.[15]
In September 2017, Singh led India to the gold medal at the SABA Under-16 Championship in Kathmandu, Nepal. He was named tournament MVP after scoring 20 points in a 131–50 win over Bhutan in his final game.[17] In April 2018, Singh competed at the FIBA Under-16 Asian ChampionshipinFoshan, China, averaging 22.7 points and 13 rebounds per game.[18] At the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian ChampionshipinNonthaburi, Thailand, he averaged 15.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game as the captain of the Indian team.[19]
In December 2018, Singh made his debut for the Indian senior national team at the Super Kung Sheung Cup International Championship in Hong Kong.[2] In February 2020, he was selected to represent India for Window 1 of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualification stage.[20] In his first game, on 21 February, Singh recorded three points, five rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes in a 68–67 loss to Bahrain.[21]
Singh's father, Gurmej Singh, is an electrician.[22] His father stands 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) and his mother, Hardeep Kaur, stands 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in).[23]
