By JAN CARLO ANOLIN
Kai Sotto inched closer to fulfilling his dreams of playing in the NBA after reportedly committing to its G League select program.
Shams Charania of The Athletic first broke the news on Monday via Twitter, stating that Sotto becomes the first international draft prospect to join the pro program.
The 7-foot-2 Sotto has opted to skip college and will join the ranks of top recruits in Filipino-American combo guard Jalen Green, the first player to sign up for the NBA G League.
Other bright prospects are Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nixx.
ESPN earlier reported that the reshaped program will group elite prospects on one team and pay them at least $500,000 while serving as one-year development program before becoming eligible to enter the NBA draft.
“The NBA is the best development system in the world, and those players shouldn’t have to go somewhere else to develop for a year. They should be in our development system,” NBA G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said.
Once official, Sotto, who just turned 18 on Monday, will become the third Filipino cager to suit up for the NBA’s developmental league following Barangay Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and KaTropa’s Ray Parks Jr.
Aguilar played with the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2012 while Parks signed up with the Texas Legends from 2015 to 2016.
Since joining the Atlanta-based organization The Skills Factory, the former Ateneo standout received interest from several colleges and balls clubs in the United States such as Georgia University, Georgia Tech, Auburn University, DePaul University and Boston College.
Sotto has yet to make an official announcement regarding the big move in hopes of becoming the first Filipino to suit up for the NBA.
