Why a G League stint can fuel Kai Sotto’s NBA dreams

ATLANTA, USA – It’s been a year since Kai Sotto decided to leave the country and pursue his training in the United States. 

It was a hard decision for the young player to make but he had a dream of making it to the NBA in 2 to 3 years. He wanted to develop his skills and gain experience playing against tougher competition. (READ: Kai Sotto glad to have pursued U.S. stint: ‘Dami kong natutunan’)

Sotto signed up with The Skills Factory (TSF), a Jr NBA affiliate based in Atlanta. It also led to an invitation last February at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Chicago, where he was able to measure his talent against some of the best high school players in the world. 

Aside from that, he has also been visiting prospective colleges like University of Kentucky, Auburn University and Georgia Tech. He also drew interests from Boston College and DePaul when coaches made a visit to his home.

The intention was to either stay with TSF or play in college, based on previous interviews by Rappler with Kai and his father Ervin Sotto.

But with Fil-Am Jalen Green recently announcing his plans to skip college and to go directly to the NBA G League, this could now become an option for the former Blue Eaglets center. 

(UPDATE: Seeking NBA dream, Kai Sotto to join G League)

His name was also mentioned in the same ESPN report. Another publication also reported that G League was trying to recruit Sotto as well.

Green and Isiah Todd, another high school senior who also recently signed with the G League, will be playing under a new team that will be unaffiliated with any G League franchise or NBA team. 

Green is ranked as the No. 1 player in the US, according to ESPN’s rankings of high school prospects. Todd, who is top 13, withdrew from his intentions to play with Michigan.

In 2018, the NBA announced a pathway for select high school prospects called the G League Select Contracts. This allows players to work with the league in terms of basketball development, life-skills mentorship and academic scholarship. 

Training here could include working with the NBA Academy and playing in the NBA Summer League. Talents would also get mentored by some of the league’s former players. 

With the G League Select Contracts, these high school players will be paid $125,000 for the season. Endorsement deals, like from shoe companies, can also supplement their earnings which is prohibited if they opted to go to college.

The G League is a vastly different program of the NBA right now compared to the time when other Filipino hopefuls like Japeth Aguilar and Kiefer Ravena were vying for spots. 

Most of the players then were trying to compete for the opportunity to get into the big league. It also wasn’t a lucrative prospect for anyone wanting to join the league as players were being paid up to $35,000 for the whole season. 

Thus, some opted to play then as an import in professional leagues in Europe and Asia where they can earn substantially more.

But the G League has become the training platform for some NBA standouts like Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton, Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam, and Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert. They have translated those into All Star appearances, league awards and an NBA championship, in the case of Siakam.

For now, Sotto’s training includes personally working with Jeremiah Boswell, who is involved with the NBA in its Youth Basketball Development Program.

Boswell previously played professionally in Europe and Asia, and has worked with the league and the Atlanta Hawks.

The 7-foot-1 Filipino center also gets one-on-one coaching with Chuck Person, who played for 5 NBA teams in 13 seasons and had assistant coaching stints as well in the league. (WATCH: Kai Sotto featured in Bleacher Report video)

But Sotto’s desire of making it to the NBA could just accelerate with a possible G League stint. – Rappler.com