There are a total of seven rookies, as per the roster on the official websites of the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings, two teams that will participate in the first-ever NBA India Games - a couple of exhibition games that will take place at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai.
One of those rookies is Pacers' forward Brian Bowen II.
Background
Brian Bowen II was born in Saginaw, Michigan on 2nd October, 1998.
High school and College experience
Bowen attended high schools in Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan and in La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana.
In 2017, he was named to the McDonald's All-American Boys Game. In that year's Jordan Brand Classic, he was named Co-MVPs after scoring 26 points including going 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Later that year, he committed to the University of Louisville.
However, before he could play a single game for the Cardinals, he became part of an FBI investigation that was looking into payments made to the family of a student-athlete who had signed with the university on or before June 3, 2018 and Bowen had announced his commitment on that very day.
MORE: History of the Indiana Pacers' franchise
A couple of months after the investigation (on November 3), during which the college had suspended Bowen from all team activities but allowed him to remain enrolled as a student and keep his scholarship, he was cleared by the FBI.
An announcement in January by Frank Martin, coach at the University of South Carolina, stated that Bowen had enrolled into the college and would be part of the university's basketball program.
Despite the announcement, a few months later, on April 2018, Bowen announced his intentions to enter the NBA Draft.
Pre-NBA Pro career
He even participated in the 2018 Draft Combine in Chicago.
However, before the final deadline in mid-June, he withdrew from the Draft allowing him to play in either the NBA G-League or any international league before potentially returning for a future NBA Draft.
MORE: Pacers' roster for the NBA India Games
In early August 2018, he signed with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL and became the first player to be signed to the NBL's Next Stars program.
In 28 games, he averaged 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per games. As a wing player, he shoots 35.1% from beyond the arc on 1.3 attempts.
A year later, Bowen went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft but on July 1, he signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers and their G-League affiliate Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Skill set
Having played with veterans like Andrew Bogut in Sydney, Bowen is certainly no ordinary rookie. He has a year's worth of professional basketball experience.
For more updates and stories on the NBA India Games 2019, you can follow NBA.com's page dedicated to the historic event.