CHICAGO — It’s been a while — 1,084 days to be exact — since Kai Sotto made his NBA Summer League debut in 2023.
With the basketball-crazed Philippines held captive in breathless anticipation, buzzkill ruined the fun.
A then member of the Orlando Magic, Kai had three consecutive DNPs (Did Not Play) versus Detroit, Indiana and New York.
On July 13, the fourth day of the tournament, he finally played against Portland and had six points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
But in the Magic’s fifth and final game, Sotto carded zero points, two rebounds, one block and one assist before exiting with a lower back pain.
Kai’s Las Vegas saga was reduced into a less dramatic spectacle that carried more hype than substance.
I KNOW IT WELL. I WAS THERE.
Back in May 2020, the former Ateneo high school star stood at the doorstep of the NBA when he signed with the G League Ignite.
Sadly, the two sides parted ways on February 2021.
A league source, speaking on the condition of anonymity on Sunday, cited some of the reasons for the divorce.
Sixty-one months later, no longer a precarious teenager but a married man at age 24, the 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas slotman is attempting another shot at the NBA via the Summer League.
IS HE BETTER-EQUIPPED THIS TIME AROUND?
Yes, thanks to a pro career that has taken him to the NBL in Australia and the B.League in Japan where he became a double-double machine.
Wiser now, with more muscle on his 232-pound frame, Sotto also has greater agent representation in Wasserman Sports.
But familiar questions linger.
Can he guard elite wings? Is he strong enough to hold his ground and not be pushed around by NBA-type bigs?
How’s his lateral movement, speed, quickness, agility, stamina and endurance?
Satisfying most, if not all, of those questions is the key to realizing Kai’s NBA dream.
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