Ben Madilynn
Kai Sotto will make his long-awaited NBA Summer League debut. Sotto, who stands at a height of 7’3″, has made waves both in the Philippines as well as on the international stage. Sotto chose to give up college after a successful high-school career in America, where he showed off his talents and demonstrated his skills.
Sotto’s participation in NBA Summer League represents a significant step on his journey towards achieving his NBA goals. This will allow him to showcase his skills against some the most talented young players in the world, and show that he deserves a place in the NBA. Sotto has a unique combination of basketball intelligence, size and mobility. Basketball fans around the globe are anxious to see if Sotto is able to live up to his hype and become an outstanding player from his home country.
Kai Sotto’s NBA Summer League debut was a momentous occasion for the player as well as the basketball community. Sotto has the opportunity to demonstrate his talents, gain experience, and perhaps catch the eye NBA scouts or coaches. As the young Filipino sensation steps onto the court all eyes are on him, eager to see if he can make a splash in the world of basketball.
KAI SOTTO of the Philippines will make his NBA Summer League debut on Sunday, 9 July (Manila time) at the Thomas and Mack Center located in Las Vegas.
Sotto, the Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons will face off at 5:30 in the morning.
“We just wrapped our first practice in Vegas. Game time is on July 8 (Las Vegas time) and I hope to see you all there,” Sotto said in a tweet by Orlando Magic posted on Twitter Friday.
READY FOR GO Kai Sotto is working out at the Orlando Magic facility to prepare for his NBA Summer League stint in 2023. PHOTO FROM HIS SOCIAL MEDIA ACCESS
Sotto’s 7’3″ height makes him one of two center players on Orlando’s Summer League team. If the Magic don’t switch to a smaller ball lineup, Sotto will get a lot of playing time.
Sotto and Robert Baker 2nd, 6’11” tall, will be sharing the center role.
Baker, 24, played last season for Osceola Magic, the Magic’s G-League Affiliate. He averaged 10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 assist per game.
D.J. Wilson, a 6-foot-10-inch power forward, is the next big man to join Orlando’s Summer League rotation. Wilson.
Wilson, 27, is the Magic’s most experienced player and appears to play the majority of the time at the number four position.
Wilson has been a member of the NBA for five years. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks as well as Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. Wilson played for the Raptors in 2022, where he averaged 7.5 point, 4.0 rebound, 1.3 assistance, and 1.3 thefts.
Sotto, who was not selected in the NBA Rookie Draft in 2022, returned to Australia and played his second season in the National Basketball League with the Adelaide 36ers. He has also played in Japan for the Hiroshima Dragonflies B. This year, he also played for Hiroshima’s Dragonflies of Japan’s B.
In the NBA Summer League, Sotto needs to play well to impress the coaching staff of the Magic — or any other NBA team — for him to get invited to training camp for the 2023-2024 season.
Sotto plays with Anthony Black, this year’s 6th overall pick. When the Magic take on the Pistons, they will be playing against another rookie of high quality in Ausar Thomson.
Thompson, a 6-foot-7, fifth-round draft pick by Detroit in the Overtime Elite 2023 championship, averaged 16,3 points, 7,1 rebounds, 6,1 assists and 2,4 steals per game for the City Reapers. Thompson was also awarded the Season Most Valuable Player and Finals Most Valuable Player this year.
