Continuing to Reach Greater Heights: Kai Sotto Signs a Deal to Play in NBA G-League

  • May 13, 2020
  • BASKETBALL
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As soon as Kai Sotto departed for the United States after a successful high school career playing for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), pundits knew that he is going after one dream: to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). And it didn't take long before basketball scouts in the US took notice of the basketball prodigy from the Philippines as even veteran coach in Bill Bayno has said that Kai Sotto has already obtained the skillset the latter would need should he goes on to become the next Filipino to make it to the NBA.

And just recently, Kai Sotto just moved closer towards making his NBA dream a reality.

Following the footsteps of Filipino-American draft prospect, Jalen Green, among other prospects in the United States, Kai Sotto is skipping what would have been an exciting collegiate career in the US to join the NBA G-League, making him the first international prospect to take this route to the NBA. He is set to join the Southern California team of the G-League which will make him teammate with Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd, and Daishen Nix. 

While Green will potentially be a top-three draft pick in the 2021 NBA Draft as he is touted as the top recruit in 2020, Sotto isn't far away either as he is ranked 62nd in ESPN's Top 100 High School Players for 2020 and ranked 11th in his position. One way or another, the G-League will not only strengthen Sotto's grip on his NBA dream. He will gain the knowledge with regard to how he can attain the toughness that he will need to be able to bang bodies against some of the best big men in the NBA and that something that Bayno himself noted. 

Kai Sotto can shoot, pass, and defend and for Bayno, that's the ideal skillset a seven-footer could use very well in the NBA. Imagine what else he can do once he finishes his G-League stint. As they all say, sky is the limit for a talented player such as Kai Sotto.

Fly high, Kai!  

Photo is from Daily Guardian