MANILA, Philippines — Filipino Kai Sotto took a big step in reaching his goal to be the first-ever full-blooded Filipino in the NBA after signing with the NBA G League select team.
Sotto, who has been in the United States for more than a year now to pursue his NBA dream, was among the top prospects G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim wanted to include in the program.
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Speaking to Philippine media Thursday evening, Abdur-Rahim revealed the qualities he saw in Sotto that led to his signing.
"Obviously, we want to see NBA level talent. A player that we are projecting and expecting to go all the way to the NBA, [with] work ethic, right character and the desire to be pushed and to be challenged," Abdur Rahim said.
"We wanna make sure we try to identify players on track to be in the NBA... I think Kai can reach all of those areas. He's really on his way to great things," he added.
The 18-year-old Sotto will be joined by Filipino-American Jalen Green in a non-affiliated G League squad that will focus on player development.
The new program will be a big boost to both prospects' NBA journey as they will be exposed to intense training and will be able to test their mettle against top teams in the G League and NBA Academies across the globe.