Filipino Kai Sotto opts for NBA G-League select program

Last updated on May 7th, 2021 at 08:37 am

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino center Kai Sotto will become the first international player to enter the NBA G-League’s revamped professional program.

The 7-foot-2 Sotto was included the on G League’s new Select Team that landed several top high school recruits, including  Jalen Green, Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd.

Sotto is ranked at No. 62 overall on ESPN’s 2020 rankings, is the son of former PBA big man Ervin Sotto. He arrived in the United States in 2019  and joined The Skill Factory, a prep program based in Atlanta.

Kai Sotto’s representatives in the US have declined to confirm the move but once official, Kai is set to become the third Pinoy to play in the NBA G-League after Japeth Aguilar in 2012 and Ray Parks in 2015-16.

The G-League select program is an avenue for basketball prospects who would prefer not to go play in the US NCAA and instead take a year off before trying their luck in the NBA. The program gives young players in the US rather than accepting international offers from the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) or the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Sotto last played for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets in the UAAP juniors division in 2018.