Kai Sotto set to begin NBA draft mission with team workouts
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – The Philippines’ best prospect Kai Sotto is scheduled to work out with a dozen NBA teams starting May 23.
Forbes Sports’ Adam Zagoria first reported the news.
Sotto arrived in the US last May 3 and immediately buckled down to work. He set up his pre-draft training camp in Atlanta, according to league sources.
The 7-foot-4 Filipino unicorn is working out with NBA Skills coach Jeremiah Boswell, a partner of The Skill Factory, where Sotto played prep basketball.
Boswell is also currently working as a consultant for the league on its Jr. NBA’s curriculum and content initiative. A former All-State player in Georgia, Boswell played Division I basketball in the Ivy League for Columbia University in New York. He also played professionally in Brazil, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Macedonia. He was also part of the Atlanta Hawks player developmental staff from 2010 to 2015.
Sotto’s agent Joel Bell earlier told Philstar.com that he had received assurances from NBA teams that they would pick the 19-year-old center in the draft.
They have until June 13 to decide whether Sotto will stay in the draft or withdraw his name and try again next year.
A former four-star prospect, Sotto is fresh from playing in Australia’s National Basketball League.
Sotto’s strong finish to his first and could be his lone season in the NBL has put him on the NBA radar. He scored in double figures in three of his final five games, including a career-high 21 points in 18 minutes off the bench against the three-time NBL champion Brisbane Bullets.
Sotto finished the season averaging 7.5 points on 50% shooting, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.83 blocks in just 15 minutes.
Before heading to Australia, Sotto was the first international player to sign with the G League Ignite program after his TSF stint. But he never suited up due to his commitment to Gilas Pilipinas, Philippine’s national men’s basketball team.
Sotto averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the 2021 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. His best game came against Serbia’s Boban Marjanovic. He held his own against the Dallas Mavericks center producing 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 20 minutes.
If successful, Sotto will be the first full-blooded Filipino in the NBA. Currently, the NBA has two Filipino-American players — Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz and last year’s No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.
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