Biopic of India's first NBA draftee Satnam Singh in production by Zee Studios

Satnam Singh is, arguably, figuratively and literally, the biggest name in Indian basketball. Raised in a nondescript village in Punjab, the young man grew to be a 7-footed beast with tantalising basketball potential, won a scholarship in one of the world's finest sports academies, and eventually, made history by becoming the first Indian to be drafted in the NBA, the world's finest basketball league. Although he never played for the NBA, Satnam played pro in the G-League and in Canada, and the 24-year-old continues to represent the Indian national team.

His incredible story, right up to the point of the night he was drafted, was documented by Roman Gackowski's memorable Netflix documentary One in a Billion in 2016. Now, for the first time, Satnam's journey will be told in fictionalised motion picture, the first-ever basketball biopic in India.

Production company Zee Studios recently announced that they will produce an original digital film based on the inspirational journey of Satnam Singh. The film will be available to be streamed "soon" (no confirmation date given yet) on their on-demand streaming platform, Zee5.

"In our country where basketball has miles to go before it enjoys the same kind of popularity cricket does, it's time we encourage other sports" said Ashima Avasthi, Head and VP, Zee Studios Originals. "Satnam Singh's extremely difficult yet heart-warming journey needs to be told and celebrated. We are excited to work with him on this film! With the explosion of digital content consumption in India, there's a huge market for digital first content, both films and web shows. We are working towards producing a mixed portfolio of premium digital content—web shows and films—across languages and genres for all digital platforms."

Aparna Acharekar, Programming Head, ZEE5 India said: "We are constantly on the lookout for engaging content that our audiences will enjoy and appreciate. This is a special film that we are creating with Zee Studios. An inspiring story that talks about the talented basketball player Satnam Singh's journey, hustle, struggle and triumphs."

Satnam is rumoured to be assisting with the development of the film. There has been no information released yet about the director or cast of the movie. Casting the big man himself will, of course, be a challenge: Satnam is 7-foot-2 and 130 kgs, with a very specific body type and international level basketball skills. It is difficult enough to find actors to play-act athletic capabilities of sports-persons; but in Satnam's case, the physical dimensions are going to be yet another challenge.

"It feels unreal that a film is being made on me!" said Satnam, regarding the news. "As a sportsman, I have always loved films based on sports, and I feel honoured that this film is my story. What excites me most is that this is a basketball film, the first of its kind. I hope that the film will boost the game and more kids will want to try it out. There is huge potential for the game to grow in India if only more people come out in support of it."

Sports biopics in India are a lucrative business. As a matter of fact - outside of cricket, of course - films about Indian sports end up performing much better in the eyes of the common public than the sports themselves. The formula has been devised and repeated for films like Dangal, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mary Kom, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Paan Singh Tomar, Azhar, and many more in recent years. With the arrival of streaming entertainment, the options of sporting stories in cinema will get its inevitable boost.

This is of course, exciting news for Indian hoops for Satnam to join (in a smaller, digital way) the ranks of other great Indian athletes with biopics. The film will be facing the challenge of following up the excellent One in a Billion, which followed Satnam to his village, to the IMG Academy, to NBA trials, and to the draft, and featured interviews with several luminaries involved with the game including Mark Cuban, Vivek Ranadive, and Adam Silver. I was honoured to be featured in the film, too, relaying my experiences of observing Satnam's journey from close quarters over the years.

I fear that, unless somehow perfectly cast, the issue of size and imitable skills in whatever actor cast to play Satnam will prove to be a major hindrance for the upcoming biopic. Beyond that, I hope that the writers and director ensure to get the basketball background information correct for his film, along with Satnam's intriguing off-court struggles and successes.

Hoopdarshan Episode 62: Satnam Singh returns to Indian Basketball

Indian basketball star Satnam Singh makes his 3rd appearance on the Hoopdarshan podcast, joining hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to talk about his return to India, experiences of playing in the NBA G-League, and future ambitions for an NBA return. Satnam was the first NBA draft pick from India, played for the Texas Legends for two years, was the subject of the documentary 'One in a Billion', and is now preparing to help India in the Asian Games later this year.

Kaushik and Karan also discussed the passing of Indian basketball coaching legend Rajesh Patel, the results of the Junior Nationals, and broke down some of the most-compelling story-lines from the NBA Conference Finals



Hoopdarshan is the truest voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

Hoopdarshan can be found on...

• - iTunes: Hoopdarshan 
• - Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud 
• - On Twitter: @Hoopdarshan 
• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

Short of NBA opportunities, basketball trail-blazer Satnam Singh returns to India

This article was first published in my blog for The Times of India Sports on October 12, 2017. Click here to read the original piece.

In the climactic moment to the documentary about him “One in a Billion”, Satnam Singh is in New York City, being driven to the 2015 NBA Draft. It is a life-changing convention that turns selected amateur athletes into full professionals in the world’s most-prestigious basketball league. Even at 19, Satnam has already lived numerous lifetimes: with the help of basketball, he has gone from a small, nondescript Punjabi village to an American education and world-class basketball training at the IMG Basketball Academy in Florida.

Now, he is en route to discover his destiny, suited in his sharpest gear, but looking as nervous as you would ever see a seven-foot giant. He is about to find out if years of toil and turmoil will lead him to the ultimate glory: a selection in the NBA, making him the first Indian citizen to be drafted into the league in its seven-decade history.

In the car on the way to the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, Satnam talks to the agents and friends and mentions how Yao Ming opened the door for basketball in China. Someone tells him encouragingly, that he, too, has already opened the door. Satnam, in broken English, a language barrier that haunted him in his days at the IMG Academy, responds, “Just opened the lock,” he says with a sly smile. “Not door. Just opened the lock.”

A few hours later, history will be made. The NBA’s Deputy Commissioner will call Satnam’s name on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks with the 52nd pick of the draft. A young man’s life—and an entire country’s basketball expectations—will never be the same again.

Little did Satnam know that, his words on Draft Day would become a self-prophecy. After being drafted, Satnam spent the next two years with the Maverick’s affiliate team in the NBA’s minor basketball league (NBA G-League) team Texas Legends. He played only 7.1 minutes per game in 27 appearances over two years, averaging just 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds. The NBA dream and those over-enthused Yao Ming comparisons seemed to loom too far in the horizon.

Satnam was right: by getting drafted, he had only unlocked the possibility of an Indian even making it into the conversation of NBA athletes. The door for him still remained shut.

Earlier this week, frustrated with lack of opportunity and playing time, Satnam told gathered reporters at an event organised by the General Nutrition Centre in Mumbai that he had decided to return to India to develop his game.

“I had a big problem with no playing time at NBA,” Satnam said to India Today. “I would lose my mind.”

Now, he is hoping that India, and added opportunity, will help him showcase his skillset again. With additional competitive time on court, he hopes to improve this game as well as attract the attention of scouts again.

“If I play here, I will get more game time and my game will improve,” he said to The Field. “I just want to play and work on my skills and moves. If I want to improve my game, I will need somebody who I can work with.”

His decision is somewhat surprising, considering that Satnam joined fellow Punjabi baller TJ Sahi to comment last month that there was “no future” for basketball in India and aspiring players should look for opportunities abroad.

The lack of elite-level competition and no full-time professional league has hampered the growth and opportunities for numerous Indian basketball stars, which is why, many of our top current players—Amritpal Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amjyot Singh—are looking for professional opportunities abroad. Satnam, who blazed the trail (while still being the youngest of them all) seems to have taken a step back to his roots.

“Now I have come back to India. I will play for the Indian team,” Satnam said to India Today. “I will work on my game as much as I can. I will play for Punjab, any small tournament. I want playing time. The more I play my game will improve.”

Satnam’s last foray with the Indian national team - at the prestigious FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon in August - didn’t go as well as he would have expected. He was not in ideal game shape and was behind Amritpal, Amjyot, and Arvind Annadurai in the big man rotation. He played less than nine minutes per game and couldn’t help India as they lost all three of their preliminary round games.

If he continues to stay fit, however, he should have no trouble eventually getting playing time in India. He will likely play for Punjab in national tournaments and hopefully find a place for himself in the UBA Basketball League. He will have to evolve his style to fit into the faster pace of the game, which was part of his struggle in breaking into the Texas Legends line-up back in the United States, too.

By returning to India for more playing opportunity, Satnam will be sacrificing the exposure, facilities, and competition that was available to him in the US. Could playing without a fully professionalised league, against inferior opponents, with worse coaching and infrastructure, truly help him find future international opportunities?

From farming in the Ballo Ke village in Punjab to rubbing shoulders with the best in the basketball world, Satnam has already taken Indian basketball further than anyone before him. Indeed, he has unlocked the door to the NBA. Hopefully he - or a successor — will kick it wide open very soon.

Abhishek Bachchan ready to play Satnam Singh in a biopic - if Satnam wins an NBA championship

The following statements are the truth:

- Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor, star of Bollywood hits like Dhoom, Dostana, Bunty Aur Babli, Guru, and Sarkar, and the son of India's most-respected actor ever, Amitabh Bachchan.

- Satnam Singh was the first Indian basketball player to be drafted into the NBA in 2015 and plays for the D-League team Texas Legends. His extraordinary story from poor Punjabi village of Ballo Ke to the NBA Draft was captured in the recent documentary One in a Billion.

- Bachchan is apparently a huge NBA fan, specifically of the Lakers, and has had interactions with the Laker great Magic Johnson. He was the first (and only) Indian to ever take part in the NBA All Star Celebrity Game in 2015, displaying his exceptionally limited basketball skills. He was also the brand ambassador of India's NBA Store and has often professed his hopes to help basketball grow in India.

- A few days ago, Satnam Singh said that, if a biopic was made of his life, Indian actors Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan would be "best suited" for the role.

- On Monday, Bachchan responded to the story on Twitter by saying that he would do the biopic - for free, too - if Satnam can win an NBA championship.

- Bachchan is 6-foot-2 and 40-year-old. Satnam is 7-foot-1 and 21-years-old. Satnam knows how to play basketball. Bachchan knows how to act.

- Satnam has yet to play an NBA game. Although he is never going to be an NBA star, there is still a possibility that the big guy gets signed on to a fringe role by an NBA team. Satnam's chances of winning an NBA championship would depend highly on a perfect situation of playing for a team that both has the space/requirement for a big guy of his skillset and the talent to beat the top contenders in the league for the title. Think DJ Mbenga from the 2009-2010 back-to-back champion Lakers' squads.

The following statements are the 'alternative facts':

- The Golden State Warriors will sign Satnam as a backup, where he immediately becomes 'The Splash Singh'. Satnam will join a roster that already includes Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala. He would be the umpteenth big man option behind Green, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, David West, Anderson Varejao, Kevin Looney, James McAdoo, and Damian Jones.

- In the 2017 NBA Finals - round three between the Cavaliers and the Warriors - Golden State would lose Draymond Green after another accidental kung-fu reflex moment, Zaza to the Georgian parliament, McGee after he Shaqted-a-Fool one too many times, Varejao and David West to old age, and Looney, McAdoo and Damian Jones to foul trouble. In this moment of desperation, they would call upon The Behemoth of Ballo Ke, The Punjabi Premier of the Paint, to save the day in Game 7. In seven invaluable minutes of action, Satnam would set up important screens for open jumpers for Curry, Durant, and Thompson, outrebound Tristan Thompson, deny LeBron easy access to the basket, and pick up six quick fouls to destroy Cleveland's comeback momentum.

- Warriors will win the 2017 NBA Title and Satnam Singh will get his championship ring.

- In 2020, when Abhishek Bachchan is in his mid-40s, he will requires the help of India's finest computer graphic designers to make him a foot taller and 30-years younger. He will play Satnam from age 15-25 in India's greatest sporting biopic film of all time.

- 'King Singh: The Sikh With Da Sickness' will break all the box office records, win Bachchan all the Filmfare Awards, and become India's choice for Oscars' 'Best Foreign Language film', obviously winning that award, too.

- The film's popularity will make basketball one of the most popular sports in India and earn Satnam an honorary place as 'Basketball Ambassador' in the Hall of Fame.

- Satnam will eventually co-star in a travel show alongside Stephen Curry called 'The Curry-wallahs: Basketball and Butter Chicken from Ballo Ke to the Bay Area'.

Thank you for your time.

Billion to One

I talked to Satnam Singh about his inspirational new documentary on Netflix, which chronicles his stranger-than-fiction journey from India to an NBA Draft pick.

This article was first published on SLAMOnline.com on December 13, 2016. Read my original piece here.



Here are two worlds.

World No. 1 is the Ballo Ke village, district Barnala, in the heartland of the India’s north-western state of Punjab. Ballo Ke is not on the map. Its population of eight hundred people—mostly poor, disenfranchised farming families—live among paddy fields, separated from the rest of civilization by hours, which are traveled along a bumpy dirt path. Electricity came here late, and mobile phones rarely connect. Ask for a cup of chai and someone will milk a buffalo in front of you. It’s dusty all the time.

World No. 2 is the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, opened in 2012 as one of the swankiest multi-event facilities on the planet. It cost over a billion US dollars to construct. Its tenants include the Brooklyn Nets, an NBA franchise valued in the billions which plays under the electrical charge of flashing jumbotrons, on-court laser shows, and machine guns spewing T-shirts into the stands. Since 2013, it has hosted the NBA Draft in a room full of some of world’s richest CEOs, VPs, agents, and future basketball superstars.

These worlds are polar opposites of culture, economy, and lifestyle. And yet, through the course of one of the most inspiring stories in all of sports, one young man—Satnam Singh—lived through it all, marrying the dichotomy of the marginalized third-world with the highest stakes of the world’s richest basketball league, and journeying through it all while carrying the improbable hopes of a billion-strong country on his wide shoulders.

The summary, if this was a piece of fiction, sounds too improbable to be true. But truth is often stranger than fiction, and over the last decade, that story actually took place: Satnam, the son of a farmer from Ballo Ke village, used both nature (his size) and nurture (hard work) to make history when the Dallas Mavericks picked him in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Satnam’s entire life is the equivalent of Kevin Garnett screaming “Anything is Possible!” on infinite loop. Now, his journey’s been encapsulated in the feature-length documentary One in a Billion, directed by Roman Gackowski, and released worldwide on Netflix on December 6. OBB Pictures partnered with Media Weaver and RGTV to produce this project. For a year and a half of filming, Gackowski followed Satnam as he visited his tiny farming village in Punjab, India, finished his time at the IMG Basketball Academy, Florida, and got drafted into the NBA on that fateful night in New York City.

The film shows the wild extremes lives that Satnam leads, in his farm in the Ballo Ke, where he is gifted a goat upon his return and walks around paddy fields in basketball kicks, and later, in the IMG Basketball Academy, one of the world’s finest facilities for youth basketball development. We see him take jumpshots on basketball courts in Punjab and meet high-level NBA executives and coaches at draft combines in the US.

Also featured in the film are individuals who have played a role in the life of Satnam or in basketball at large over the years, including NBA India’s former Director of Operations Troy Justice, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, IMG Academy Basketball coach Dan Barto, former India national team coach and now-IMG Academy director of basketball Kenny Natt, basketball agent Travis King, Secretary General of Punjab Basketball Association Teja Singh Dhaliwal, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, VP of Kings’ basketball operations Vlade Divac, Satnam’s family, including his father Balbir, and many more. SLAM senior editor Abe Schwadron’s pre-draft interview with Satnam also makes a cameo. (And after closely following Satnam’s journey over the past seven years, I sat down for an interview that’s featured in the documentary, too.)

Satnam Singh is the true star here, though. Through old photographs, stories, footage, and the lead-up to draft day, the documentary paints the picture of a young man who stood up to the responsibility of shouldering a moment in history.

On the day of the film’s worldwide release on Netflix, I spoke to director/producer Roman Gackowski, producer Michael D. Ratner, President/CEO of OBB Pictures, and Satnam Singh himself to learn more about the story behind One in a Billion.

SLAM: What first attracted you to Satnam’s story and this project?

Gackowski: Michael and I had worked together in the past and were looking for a project to collaborate on. Michael wanted a different kind of storyline and this was the one that specially struck a chord. He brought it up to me; we both felt it was a deep human interest story, and it felt even greater once we started pursuing it. As a lifelong sports fan, it blew my mind that a country with the population of India had never produced an NBA player, especially when you look at the way the NBA has evolved over last 25-30 years with their international exposure. There was a curiosity as to why that was. The story was fascinating from the beginning and Satnam was an interesting character.

Ratner: I was working on an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary and I wanted more sports stories that are about character and are inspirational. I was talking to different agents, and Travis King, who had been following Satnam, mentioned him. I was fascinated by this potential underdog story. We knew the stakes were high, and we couldn’t predict the ending—if he would actually get drafted. There are 1.3 billion people in his country and nobody had made it before. The final moment when I wanted to do this was when I spoke to Troy Justice [formerly of NBA India] who knew Satnam personally and told me he was a special young man. Troy was absolutely right! There is a scene in the movie, before the draft, when Satnam says that he has only opened the lock to basketball in India, but the door is still closed. This story is still going on, the end of the story is not written yet.

SLAM: Satnam, how did you first react to the news that there are people interested in a documentary about you? Was it strange having a film crew follow you around as you went through some of the most important moments of your life?

Singh: The documentary crew came with me to India, I remember, and my Dad asked me, ‘Why are they doing this?’ I told my Dad that they wanna focus on where I’m from and let people know who I am. Then I told myself, ‘These people are spending a lot of money for you, if you don’t work hard and you don’t do anything, it won’t be good for you’. So, that’s why I knew I need to work hard. I needed to go open the lock. That became my goal, to not disappoint my family, the investment by IMG, by the film crew. I did everything that they needed. As I say in the film: right now, I’ve only opened the lock. I’m only in the D-League. I need to go further and open the door to the NBA.

SLAM: What were the most challenging aspects of filming this story?

Gackowski: Going to his village, for sure, it was a different environment. Thankfully, the producers had put us up with the right people for this project, so we had the support we needed. The thing that struck me most was to see the differences: Satnam was 14 when he left his home, his family, and went literally halfway around the world. When you see the world he grew up in, to see where he was then, and then to IMG Academy in Florida, it’s another world. That was a story that we tried to tell. There were difficulties working around language, but we had set ourselves up in a position to tell the story. Satnam is a really good, true human being, who was trying to do so much for not just himself but his family and his country. You kinda get invested in a guy like that. When we were going along with him, everybody on the crew felt so close to him and kept on asking about him. We were rooting for him and were so happy how it eventually turned out. I know Satnam felt so much stress and pressure before the draft. All of us felt the same way.

SLAM: Satnam, when you see your whole journey in this film, from your village to NBA, what does it make you think?

Singh: When I watched the movie, I realized how much nicer the court is now back in Punjab! It wasn’t so nice when I started playing basketball there! I came to the USA in 2010. When I came here I said ‘Damn! If only we had the same opportunity in India!’ I was lucky I got a great opportunity and had coaches to help me here. I know my body changed, I learned a new language, changed the way I talked to people. But I don’t like to change my attitude of where I’m from. My background is important to me. You should never forget where you come from. Even if I have a million, billion dollars: money and the new people you meet matter less. The most important thing in my life is to understand where my family is, to understand how much I had when I first came here, and why I came here. I came here to play ball, make a name for myself, make history for India. That’s why I have only one focus.

SLAM: What do you hope that viewers take from One in a Billion?

Ratner: I hope that the viewer walks away feeling optimistic and engaged, and understand that they have watched a story that is still being written. This is a feel-good film. The climactic scene honestly tugged at my heart. When you watch it, you see the math the agents are doing for him to be drafted and you feel the pressure, too. Yes, the movie wouldn’t have been a failure if he hadn’t been drafted, but to be picked, it made it matter so much more. There’s something unbelievable there, the feat of him being drafted, shaking the deputy commissioner’s hand. This was a true Cinderella Story, a risk for this young man who worked hard, flew across the world away from his country, and made history. The commissioner [Adam Silver] said that Satnam could really open the door for NBA in India. Now the goal is for him to be on the NBA court. To play in his first NBA game.

SLAM: What did you learn about Satnam by getting to know him and interviewing the people close to him?

Gackowski: I come away with the understanding that he is an incredibly brave, dedicated, and pure individual. It was a big deal for him to come to the USA because there were people from his village, his family, his coaches, who had a lot of expectations. They didn’t quite understand what the journey would be for him. Satnam was still young when he first went out. There were a lot of expectations but he said to himself, ‘No matter what, I’ll take this on my shoulders. I’ll do this’.

He came to the USA and didn’t know the language. He was trapped and he fought through it. He took the risk. There’s some powerful moments in the films as he spent years learning the language, feeling lost, trapped, while he was working hard to be able to understand be productive on court and in the classroom. There was a scene when a coach talked to him and he understood, and it was a breakthrough moment! You could feel that it someone in his life had just turned the lights on!

He tells you to take a risk, to be brave. He did everything he could possibly could to get to this level. Troy Justice said in the documentary that Satnam is the kind of player who would run through the wall for you, and he literally will. If he hadn’t accomplished this, it wouldn’t have been for a lack of trying. That’s what we see in the film: he’ll do it and do it the right way. And he doesn’t just do it for himself. It’s for everyone involved, for his parents and coaches in India and the USA.

SLAM: Satnam, the movie is over, but your basketball career goes on. You’ve already made history. If there was a sequel to the story, and you could write it, what would you like to see.

Singh: Having them [the documentary crew] around motivated me more, it gave me more help to have a strong mind and work hard. Maybe I’ll have one more documentary again. The same movie or a different kind—about what I can achieve in my next step!

Satnam Singh documentary "One in a Billion" is now streaming on Netflix worldwide!

Here's a pitch for a movie: a poor farmer's son from rural India learns basketball and becomes the first of a country of 1.3 billion to be drafted into the NBA.

The summary, if this was a piece of fiction, sounds too improbable to be realistic. But the truth is often stranger than fiction, and over the last decade, that story actually took place: Satnam Singh, the son of a farmer from Ballo Ke village in Punjab, used both nature (his size) and nurture (hard work) to make history when the Dallas Mavericks picked him in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Released worldwide to stream on Netflix on December 6, 2016, "One in a Billion" tells Satnam's comprehensive story so far in great detail. The documentary was produced by OBB Pictures and directed by Roman Gackowski. For a year and a half of filming, Gackowski followed Satnam as he finished his time at the IMG Basketball Academy, got drafted to the NBA, and visited his village in Punjab. He also interviewed several close individuals connected with Satnam's story from this childhood, his education, and his professional career.

If you know Indian basketball, you know the ending of the story already. "One in a Billion" takes us back to the beginning. It brings to screen the surreal story behind Satnam's real life. Some of the strongest moments are when the documentary crew follows him into the hinterlands of Punjab as he visits his family, introduces his friends, and lays on the very farm he grew up in. These scenes are juxtaposed with scenes a few months later at the IMG Academy, one of the finest facility of youth sports development around the world. The documentary introduces viewers to Satnam's family, his coaches, teachers, and his agent. We see him direct the way deep into his Punjabi village. We see agent Travis King's pitch to Satnam, we see him visit draft combines and get suited up for the draft, perform at pre-draft workouts with various teams in the NBA.

One of the most powerful scenes in the film is when Satnam - who has struggled in IMG because of his weak English proficiency - realises that his English has now become good enough to converse freely. "I just wanted to keep talking," he says joyfully. Of course, the moment at the Barclay's Center in New York City when NBA Deputy Commissioner drafts Satnam into the NBA is Satnam and the film's crowning moment.

Also featured in the film are individuals who have played a role in the life of Satnam or in basketball at large over the years, including NBA India's former Director of Operations Troy Justice, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, IMG Academy Basketball coach Dan Barto, IMG Academy and former India national team coach Kenny Natt, basketball agent Travis King, Secretary-General of Punjab Basketball Association Teja Singh Dhaliwal, owner of the Sacramento Kings Vivek Ranadive, VP of Kings' basketball operations Vlade Divac, Satnam's family, including his father Balbir, and many more. As I have been tracking Satnam's story closely for several years and offer an international perspective on Indian basketball, I was featured in the documentary as well.

Satnam Singh, however, is the of course the star of the documentary. Through old photographs, stories, footage, and the lead-up to draft day, the documentary paints the picture of a young man who stood up to the responsibility of shouldering a moment in history. Satnam says early in the movie, citing the responsibilities his father told he has for his family and India, that "It's a lot!" The documentary shows a humble young man going out into the big world of NBA basketball where everyone except himself seemed to have a well-carved space. Satnam, instead, created his own space, breaking through the giant wall with his 7-foot frame and coming out on the other side as an ever-smiling, ever-vulnerable, gentle giant.

Go and watch "One in a Billion" now! If you already know the story, it will open your eyes to understand the man in the middle, the details of his struggles, and the joy of his triumph. And if you don't know it yet, well, get ready for an inspirational tale, against all the odds, of an Indian star's success.