MANILA, Philippines — Kai Sotto is paying no mind to "predictions" about next year's NBA draft that mostly see him absent from the first round.
While his NBA G League Team Ignite teammates Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Daishen Nix are projected as lottery picks, the 7'2" Filipino is not even a first-rounder in mock drafts from media publications like Sports Illustrated, Yahoo! Sports, and ESPN.
But Sotto isn't affected by it all, and chooses to focus on what he can control rather than what other people choose to say about him.
"I'm not putting too much attention to the rankings because I know what I'm capable of doing," said Sotto during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
"My dad always tells me to don't think about it too much... just focus about your improvement as a player and as a person. For me that doesn't really matter as much," he added.
Right now, the 18-year-old seeking to be the first-ever Filipino in the NBA is simply working on his game.
Despite the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Sotto is focused in working to make him NBA ready with the rest of his G League teammates.
"The NBA is full of the best players in the world so I'm doing my best each day to improve," Sotto said.
Sotto and the rest of the NBA G League Team Ignite are in Walnut Creek, California undergoing training sessions and scrimmages.