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Filipino basketball prodigy Kai Sotto aims to be the best in Asia as he begins NBA G-League adventure

  • The 18-year-old giant joins hand-picked G-League team and explains having to ‘earn respect’ as an Asian
  • Sotto describes ‘blessing and challenge’ in representing his beloved homeland and his desire to follow in Manny Pacquiao’s footsteps

Reading Time:6 minutes
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Filipino basketball star Kai Sotto trains ahead of his NBA G-League Select Team welcoming in Walnut Creek, California. Photo: East-West Private
Andrew McNicol

Filipino basketball sensation Kai Sotto is used to pressure. The towering 18-year-old is forever accompanied by his proud, basketball-obsessed homeland, taking note of his every move as he edges closer to becoming the first full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA.

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Sotto is days away from one of several historic moves as he travels to California to meet his new NBA G-League Select Team teammates. The hotly tipped centre, who stands at 2.18m (7’2”), rather unconventionally opted for the G-League over division one college basketball in May, joining a hand-picked developmental team for “elite” NBA prospects.
G-League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim quickly labelled him “the best from Asia”, while team head coach Brian Shaw has made early comparisons to silky Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. The latest hype transcends the sport itself, with Sotto’s trajectory slowly morphing into him being the country’s next Manny Pacquiao.

“It’s kind of unfair to compare me to Manny Pacquiao because Manny Pacquiao is the GOAT [greatest of all time],” Sotto told the Post via group video call. “I’ve seen how he affected the Philippines, not just in sport but in life. Every time there’s a Manny Pacquiao match, everybody stops to watch. I just hope one day that I can have that effect on Filipinos – that’s a dream of mine.

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao trains in front of a Philippines flag at Wild Card Boxing Club, Los Angeles in 2015. Photo: AP
Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao trains in front of a Philippines flag at Wild Card Boxing Club, Los Angeles in 2015. Photo: AP
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“I considered the option of college because I really wanted to experience college and play for a college, but for my goal to the NBA I think the G-League is a great choice because you’re around NBA-calibre coaches and players and you learn how to live like a professional NBA player every day.”

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