CHICAGO - Before a technicality got in the way, Kai Sotto came a breath away from playing for Texas A and M in the US NCAA.
“We could have fought it,” Tony Ronzone of The Team (previously known as Wasserman Sports), the chief curator of Kai’s NBA dream, told me on Sunday.
READ Kai Sotto 'never got an SBP invitation' to play in Asiad
But because a protracted legal battle risked losing a season of playing basketball and earning a living, the decision was made to instead sign with B.League side Altiri Chiba.
Make no mistake, though, the NBA remains the target.
The Japan B.League is a necessary detour, a pit stop toward the ambitious yet doable plan of sending the first-ever full-blooded Filipino to the NBA.
PRIZED CATCH.
As it turned out, Sotto had drawn more interest than a bank loan.
Euroleague and Euro Cup teams as well as several franchises in Japan’s Premier and B One leagues eyed his services.
Per a separate source, the Nagasaki Velca, who lost Asian quota player and 2026 Japan B League Finals MVP Lee Hyun-Jung to the Portland Trail Blazers via an Exhibit 10 contract, also lodged a pursuit.
The nod, however, went to Chiba where Sotto is expected to get major playing minutes under coach Andrej Lemanis, who is familiar with Kai’s game after they crossed paths in Australia’s NBL.
“It’s going to be a big year for Kai,” Ronzone said, adding that following a star turn during the last FIBA qualifying window, “the NBA will have eyes on him.”
Now wielding approximately 20 pounds of added “good weight” to help withstand physicality without compromising speed and agility, the hope is for the 7-foot-3 center to have a dominant season.
NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER.
With that box checked, a Summer League entry is the next step. And from there, the possibilities are limitless.
“With good health, there’s reason to be optimistic. Kai’s a hard worker and only 24 years old. He’s stronger now and will only get better as he matures,” Ronzone said.
The fact that bigs (see Jermaine O’Neal, Brook Lopez and the like) tend to bloom late adds a layer of confidence.
Sure, there will always be non-believers.
But for every pinch of doubt thrown his way, Kai grows a dollop of self confidence and determination.
He’d come so far to get here. There’s no giving up at this point.
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