Undrafted NBA champion Jeremy Lin offers sound advice to Kai Sotto
MANILA, Philippines — Kai Sotto received valuable guidance from 2019 NBA champion Jeremy Lin after the former went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft that concluded on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
Lin, who won it all with the Toronto Raptors three years ago, went undrafted as well in 2010, pointed to the fact that draft night is not the only path to the NBA.
On an interview with ESPN Asia, Lin — who had spent time with Sotto in the NBA G League Ignite in 2020 — shared his two cents on what it meant if Sotto missed out on his shot.
As ???????? Philippine prospect @kzsottolive went undrafted on Thursday night, 2019 @NBA champion @JLin7 - a man who is no stranger to similar disappointment - urges the 20-year-old to keep believing in himself. #NBA #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/zXXAjM53tU
— ESPN Asia (@ESPNAsia) June 24, 2022
"I've met Kai. I've played against Kai, I've played with Kai. Like, you know, during the G League Ignite time, I had spent a couple of days with them. I'm rooting for him too. But at the same time, maybe I'm biased, but I just don't feel like draft night is that like, because there's so many people that get drafted and fall off, and there's so many people that go undrafted and fall in," said Lin.
"It's just to me, it's a benchmark for where you are today but it is not at all a indicator of where you will be down the road," he added.
Lin himself is proof of his sentiment as he was able to work his way around with what was then known as the NBA D League.
In 2011, Lin found his break with the New York Knicks where he strung together a couple of breakout games that catapulted him to fame.
Though "Linsanity" did not last too long, the Taiwanese-American was still able to find himself in NBA rosters in the next couple of years.
And in 2019, he was able to strike gold in Toronto and got himself a championship ring.
Having a longer and more winding road to the NBA than others, Lin tells Sotto to not sweat too much about going undrafted.
"I would also say, hey it's okay, because you know who you are as a player and maybe if you just continue to show them over time, you will find a home and that's the biggest thing. Draft night is just one snapshot in a very long film," he said.
"And I just hope that [Kai] continues to believe in himself, stay confident, keep working hard, and just trust that as long as I stay consistent, I will find a home," he added.
Plans for Sotto point to the national team at the moment. His agent Joel Bell said Friday that the 7'3" big man is ruling out an NBA Summer League stint and instead will join Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming third window of the FIBA World Cup Asia qualifiers and the FIBA Asia Cup.
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