The NBA Dream
“I’m just focused on myself and my improvement every single day and just trying my best to be where I want to be in the future.” – Kai Sotto, Center of the NBA G League Ignite
Sotto is eager to become the first full-blooded Filipino to make the NBA and that’s not the only target he is shooting for.
On the topic of where he sees himself in five years, Sotto said on Power & Play with Noli Eala, “I imagine myself being part of a great organization, a great team and I envision myself to be an All-Star and I would do everything I can to be an All-Star and to prove that I am a great player and to represent Asia.”
“Five years from now, I wanna be the best in Asia, also being a Filipino and represent Philippines. That’s five years from now. I think that’s the dream,” he added.
The Interview
After being part of the first professional pathway program of the NBA G League along with Fil-American Jalen Green and other top prospects in the US the 18-year-old Sotto is very much on track on his journey to the NBA.
On September 23, 2020 in Walnut Creek, California, the G League select team, which will be under the leadership of head coach and former NBA veteran Brian Shaw, began its first training.
“Ever since I started basketball, my first answer to all my interviews is to be an NBA player and everyday I always wake up and see people messaging me, ‘good luck Kai, we’re supporting you, good luck on your NBA dream,“ Sotto said.
Sotto wakes up at around 7:20 a.m to start off his day and push himself to do better every single day. As early as 9am, he starts his day with a workout to gain more muscles and to be physically fit for him to match his gigantic opponents. Sotto works his body out two times a day and trains basketball two times a day as well. Even though he is in training for his basketball, his handlers would still make him lift some weights and do some stairmaster workout for around three or four times a day for ten minutes. Sotto has these coaches and physical gym handlers to watch for his performance and strictly monitor his body shape and weight.
Not only does strength training increase your capacity for physical work, it also strengthens your ability to perform everyday living tasks. With the required weight training exercises, Sotto will be able to work harder and longer. For a long period of time, stairmaster has been a training of choice. It is a stationary exercise machine that rotates steps that allow the user to climb upwards at the pace and length he or she sets, it is similar to a treadmill. It can provide an above-average cardio workout, while also toning the muscles of the lower body particularly: quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and glutes.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, president of the NBA G League, said Filipino fans should expect to see an even better Sotto in the pathway program that is proud to provide NBA-quality preparation for players to make it to the big league. For Abdur-Rahim, Sotto would be even closer to becoming the first Filipino homegrown talent to play in the NBA by becoming part of the NBA G League, in which Kai Sotto already is.
“We have a track record of helping player development and having the best coaching, and best resource of development,” Abdur-Rahim said in a video conference call with Filipino reporters organized by NBA Philippines.
Sotto is a 7-foot-2 basketball prospect out of the Philippines. At a standard that is NBA-quality, Sotto is provided with fitness and health care and all ways of helping players prepare for the NBA. Sotto practiced at The Skills Factory in Atlanta, where he worked with renowned coaches, including NBA player Chuck Person, prior to his decision to make the leap to the NBA G League.
Kai Sotto’s Workout
Abdur-Rahim, however, claims that the level of preparation Sotto will receive in the G League is something he has not seen before.
“This may be the first time Kai is anticipating this level of training. It’s going to be tremendous for him. Once he has this level of coaching and training everyday, this prospect will just take off,” said Abdur-Rahim.
As he prepares for his leap to the pros, Kai Sotto has joined up with the most sought-after NBA coach, Rob McClanaghan. Sotto impressed McClanaghan earlier this year, whose rise in the NBA stratosphere began with the active pre-draft workouts in 2008 with future MVPs Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and perennial All-Star Kevin Love.
“He’s fun to work out because he’s very versatile. He’s very skilled but also has a lot of potential to grow,” McClanaghan told the Philstar.com
McClanaghan hopes that Sotto will soon join his elite list of NBA clients, and he likes what he’s seen so far.
“He’s also a very hard worker that is willing to do what it takes,” McClanaghan said. “He has a good support system that he can lean on.”
As the Head coach of the NBA G League Ignite, Brian Shaw, will oversee their progress, while also coordinating with assistant coach Rasheed Abdul-Rahman, video coordinator Jerry Woods, and athletic coach Pete Youngman, as they will all begin with “one-on-one skill-development training.”
For NBA Draft prospects, the NBA G League select team is a first-of-its-kind program that offers them the opportunity to launch their professional careers while obtaining mentorship and life skills training, making it an excellent environment for the professional pathway team. In which Sotto has been selected to be one of the players of the top prospects of the NBA G League, the Ignite Team.
“Today I just think of it as a dream of a lot of people and that’s just a huge thing for a basketball player to have.” – Kai Sotto
https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/news/detail/kai-sotto-all-star-dreams-nba-g-league-select-team/