20 Top Basketball Players From India

20 Top Basketball Players From India

Basketball, a sport of boundless energy and indomitable spirit, found its roots in India back in 1930. From its humble beginnings, this dynamic game captured the hearts of enthusiasts and swiftly drew in larger audiences, igniting a passion that continues to burn brightly today. In 1950, the inception of the Basketball Federation of India marked a pivotal moment. It emerged as the sport’s guiding force, nurturing its growth and development across the nation.

Over the years, India has witnessed the rise of exceptional basketball talent, and athletes who have transcended boundaries and brought glory to the nation. Their journeys have been nothing short of remarkable, from the courts of their local towns to representing the tricolor on international platforms.

Today, we pay tribute to these iconic figures who have left an indelible mark on the sport. Some of them reached the zenith of their careers during their prime, while others continue to weave their magic on the courts, carrying forward the rich legacy of Indian basketball. Join us as we celebrate the outstanding basketball players of India, the heroes who’ve soared to great heights, and those who are determined to keep the legacy alive with every dribble, every basket.

1. Sat Prakash Yadav

Lucky Basket, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the more well-known Indian basketball players is Sat Prakash Yadav. He was a former captain of the Indian basketball team and has played at the guard position in the past.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Indian basketball team’s head coach. After 27 years of his coaching, the team qualified for and finished in seventh position in the 2016 Men’s FIBA Asia Challenge Cup.

Additionally, he served as the team’s head coach for the 16th Asian Games in 2010, where the Indian women’s basketball team placed sixth overall. For the first time ever, the Indian Women’s Basketball Team won every game they participated in to qualify for Level I of the 22nd FIBA Asia Basketball Championship in 2007.

2. Raspreet Sidhu

Prior to discovering a new challenge in 3×3 basketball, Sidhu, the former captain of the Indian women’s basketball team, nearly decided to hang up her LeBron 18s in recent years.

Sidhu, a guard who is five feet seven inches tall, used her all-around skills, natural leadership abilities, basketball IQ, and newly discovered I have something to prove chip on her shoulder to revive her profession after a Covid-forced break.

She led Delhi Divas to their first triumph in the most recent 3×3 Pro Basketball League (3BL), and she then led the group to the women’s championship at the Red Bull Half Court 2022 India Finals.

3. Inderbir Singh Gill

Point guard Inderbir also referred to as “The General,” is renowned for his tenacity and keen sense of game strategy.

He was raised in Jalandhar after moving with his family to the US when he was still a young adolescent. He was born in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. Although only six feet tall by basketball standards, Inderbir more than makes up for it with his persistence.

The 35-year-old is hoping that his success can instead produce a number of ‘3×3-minded’ sportsmen who would place Indian basketball on the map of the globe, despite the fact that his desire to play for India remains unfulfilled (current laws do not allow PIOs/OCIs to represent the country).

Take a look at the 25 Highest Paid Basketball Players In 2023

Lalrina, often known as “The Wizard” in basketball circles, is one of many Mizoram-born players with legitimate potential.
A real tribute to his brilliance, the 30-year-old guard is a rare example of a 3×3 player breaking into the national 5v5 team.

The six-foot Aizawl native became just the second man from North East India to be nominated to the national team in November 2021, and he represented the nation at the South Asian Basketball Championships.

5. Prashanti Singh

President’s Secretariat (GODL-India), GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the most well-known players in Indian women’s basketball is Prashanti Singh. 2019 saw history being made by the Varanasi-born shooting guard, 35.

She was the first Indian basketball player to receive the civilian Padma Shree award from India’s honorable president, Ram Nath Kovind. The most accomplished basketball player in India is Prashant. In India’s National Championships, National Games, and Federation Cups, she has won 23 medals.

Singh even owns the National Championships record for the most medals won. She belongs to the Asian Academy of Film & Television’s International Women’s Film Forum as well.

6. Ajmer Singh

The first famous Indian basketball player was Ajmer Singh. Singh began playing volleyball after finishing his education and before joining the Haryana Police. But after giving it a shot, the 6’5″ tall athlete discovered his true calling: basketball. 

He made the crucial choice to give up volleyball and focus only on his newly discovered sport. Ajmer Singh made the courageous choice to go to Kota, a city with a rich basketball history.

Ajmer Singh excelled at the 1980 Moscow Olympics after being selected for the national team. He received the 1982 Arjuna Award. Only he represented India among the top 10 shooters at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. 

Ajmer’s performance is among the most exceptional Indian accomplishments in Olympic history, despite the fact that India placed 12th overall (out of 12 nations) in the competition. He was a well-known basketball player in his native India.

7. Amjyot Singh

Jerome Trio, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Amjyot is the second Indian to play for the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA G-League. The 6-foot-11 forward is regularly producing in the league as he works to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA.

At the FIBA Asia Cup, he served as the Indian basketball team’s captain. Amjyot made a significant contribution to the country and led the team in scoring (13.0) and assists (4.3) at the end of the competition. The 27-year-old is now a member of Wisconsin Herd’s NBA G-league team. 

8. Satnam Singh

Jerome Trio, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to basketball, Satnam Singh is without a doubt the name that is most recognized in India. Satnam made NBA history in 2015 by being the first player born in India to be selected.

He was selected by the Mavericks in the second round with the 52nd overall choice, however, he was later released. Then he spent a few years playing in the G-league. In Canada’s NBL, he was a member of the St. John’s Edge.

The Indian Big Man was always held to extremely high standards, yet he never met any of them. In the NBA G-League in 2015–16, he had a 1.5-point and 1.5 rebound average per game.

He even took part in the 2016–17 campaign, playing in just eight games while averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds.

9. Amritpal Singh

Amritpal Singh is the first man from India to play in the National Basketball League (NBL) of Australia. He joined the Sydney Kings after making an impression throughout workouts, training camps, and the preseason tour.

He serves as the team’s reliable backup center in the NBL. Amritpal participated in a number of important competitions, such as the FIBA Asia Cup, the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, and the South Asian Basketball Championship.

He was named the South Asian Championship’s MVP, and he helped Team India win the competition.

More: 20 Famous Left-Handed Basketball Players

10. Anitha Pauldurai

Dhanasinght, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

On the women’s side, one of the most reliable Indian basketball players is Anitha Pauldurai. In 2018, she recently retired. Anitha is the first Indian woman to compete in eight straight championships of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC).

She finished in the top ten in the 2013 FIBA Asian Women’s Championship. She earned the Gold Medal at the first 3-on-3 FIBA Asian Basketball Championship in Doha in May 2013.

In important all-India competitions held in Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Coimbatore, Karur, Chennai, and the Ramu Memorial Trophy and Savio Cup, she has won Most Valuable Player accolades.

11. Geethu Anna Jose

Jaisyabraham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

We take a quick look at the former Indian Women’s Basketball Team captain Geethu Anna Jose. Before joining the Southern Railway Basketball Team, she played for the Kerala Junior Volleyball Team.

She was the first basketball player from India to play professionally for an Australian team, Ringwood Hawks, from 2006 to 2008. In April 2011, she received tryout invitations from WNBA teams like the Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks, and San Antonio Silver Stars.

She has secured a berth in Team Dandenong in the Women’s NBL. Australia’s top professional league, as a result of her Most Valuable Player-caliber performance in 2008. However, for personal reasons, she was unable to accept the offer.

Read 20 Greatest Women Basketball Players of All Time

12. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi

One of India’s most gifted basketball players is Vishesh Bhriguvanshi. With 30.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game while playing in 11 games for Bengaluru Beast in the UBA, Bhriguvanshi averaged astounding stats.

In one of the games, he really scored 57 points and sent out 11 assists against the opposition from Hyderabad. 

He has a history of being the first Indian basketball player to secure a contract with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League of Australia. Bhriguvanshi signed a one-year training contract with the 36ers on July 7, 2017, despite the fact that he did not play in any games for the team during the 2017–18 NBL season.

13. Akilan Pari

Stephreef at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Akilan Pari, who is only 5 feet 10 inches tall on paper, is one of the few talented Indian basketball players who has been successful in demonstrating that in the game, the heart comes before height.

In 2018, Akilan, a point guard for the Indian basketball team, served as its captain. He has also served as captain of the official Tamil Nadu State team in the U-13, U-16, U-18, and senior levels.

When Pari was chosen for the Sprite Uncontainable Game during the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend, his fanboy dream came true. In reality, he received coaching from NBA All-Stars LeBron James and Serge Ibaka during the competition.

The Tamilian took this lesson to work harder in the gym and develop into one of the nation’s top passers and ball handlers. He is one of India’s most well-known basketball players.

14. Sat Prakash Yadav

One of the more well-known Indian basketball players is Sat Prakash Yadav. He was a former captain of the Indian basketball team and has played at the guard position in the past.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Indian basketball team’s head coach. After 27 years of his coaching, the team qualified for and finished in seventh position in the 2016 Men’s FIBA Asia Challenge Cup.

Additionally, he served as the team’s head coach for the 16th Asian Games in 2010. This is where the Indian women’s basketball team placed sixth overall. For the first time ever, the Indian Women’s Basketball Team won every game they participated in to qualify for Level I of the 22nd FIBA Asia Basketball Championship in 2007.

15. Sozhasingarayer Robinson

A legend in Indian basketball, Robinson may not have received the recognition or attention he truly deserved while on the court. The 6-8 forward, though, was a player who opened up new horizons for India’s sport and was pound for pound one of the greatest Indians to ever play the game.

One of the first Indian players to play professionally abroad, Robinson was a remarkable athlete. After dominating at the state and national levels, he rose to prominence after helping India shock South Korea in the 2004 FIBA Asia Stancovic Cup by scoring an astounding 36 points.

He was a daring forward with the ability to go on rapid shooting runs, attack from the outside, and finish in the paint. However, a contentious suspension he received in Tennessee in 2006 cut short his peak.

16. Satnam Singh

Singh is the youngest of the prospective “G.O.A.T.s” and is arguably the most well-known Indian basketball player in history. Many of us are already familiar with his One In A Billion narrative, which includes how he was discovered in the small Punjabi town of Ballo Ke, how he shot up to seven feet as a teenager, how he was chosen to improve his abilities at the IMG Academy in Florida, and how he won juvenile competitions both domestically and internationally.

Singh made his debut for the Indian senior squad in 2011, took a few years off to concentrate on his professional career abroad, and then returned to India in 2017 to take charge of the national team once more. 

He has consistently contributed to Team India in previous years. Singh has already made history because of his time spent playing in the NBA. He will try to make another leap to a higher level, similar to Robinson above.

17. Khushi Ram

Julia.joseph, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The late Khushi Ram, sometimes referred to as “The Magician of Basketball in India” and “The Scoring Machine of Asia,” is recognized as one of the greatest players to ever represent the nation and, during his heyday, was one of Asia’s top players.

Ram started playing basketball with the Indian Armed Forces in the national league in 1952, and during that time, he won multiple “Best Player” accolades while leading them to 10 straight national championships.

He competed for Rajasthan at the Nationals as well. In 1967, Ram received the Arjuna Award. This is one of the nation’s greatest sporting honors, for his high IQ and dead-on accuracy. In his village in Haryana, a statue honoring Ram was erected after his passing.

18. Ravi Bhardwaj

Indian-born basketball player Ravi Bhardwaj was born on October 31, 1992. He now plays for the Punjab Steelers in India’s UBA Pro Basketball League.
Basketball was Ravi’s first sport when he was 16 years old.

As a member of the Indian national basketball team, he took part in the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran, Iran. For his team there, he had the top free throw and field goal percentages.

In addition, from April 4 to April 15, 2018, he participated in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, as a member of the Indian National Basketball Team.
He was selected the Most Valuable Player in the inaugural UBA Pro League in 2015. Ravi Bhardwaj won multiple medals in inter-school, inter-university, and inter-college tournaments. Ravi received his MBA degree from Panjab University.

19. Barkha Sonkar

International basketball player Barkha Sonkar was born on December 24, 1996. As a member of the Indian women’s national basketball team, she participated in the “2017 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Division B” for India.

She received a scholarship from IMG Reliance for training and studies in the US. My high school was IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where I received my diploma in 2016.

After that, she went to Hillsborough Community College, where she spent two years competing for the Hawks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

20. Princepal Singh

Princepal Singh, a lanky lad, had never played basketball before. Since he liked volleyball, he went to the Guru Nanak Stadium Complex in Ludhiana to play.

But life had different plans for him. Princepal, a basketball coach, was playing volleyball when Jaipal Singh, who is 6 feet 6 inches tall, walked across him. His height and physique were ideal for a hooper.

He was immediately intrigued when the teacher suggested he try the sport. Princepal Singh picked up the game quite quickly. He rose to prominence as one of the best young shooters in the country and created difficulties for the opponent in the paint.

During an open audition at the SAI training, Singh was selected for a three-year scholarship in America. Despite the denial of his visa application, he continued training at the NBA facility in Noida.