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    Chot wants to see Kai Sotto get stronger, tougher in NBA G League

    Reyes explains why he agrees G League is best path for Sotto in bid to make NBA
    Aug 6, 2020

    KAI Sotto's strength is the top concern for former national coach Chot Reyes as the 7-foot-2 wunderkind embarks on a new chapter in his career in the NBA G League.

    "I have no worries on Kai's skills because he has all the skills for a basketball player. He's a great ballhandler, a great shooter, and a great passer cause he sees the game very well," told Coaches Unfiltered. "For me, it's really his strength."

    Reyes had the chance to see Sotto's development when he paid the Filipino center a visit in the US before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    It's already a promising sign for Reyes that the 18-year-old is slowly adding muscle to his lanky frame, with Sotto gaining about 22 to 24 lbs. since coming to Atlanta and joining The Skill Factory last year.

    But it's not just bulking up as Reyes shared that the trainers there focus on even the minutest details of Sotto's game.

    "I liked what I saw and I like the improvements. But there's some specific movements that they're working on with respect to how he runs, his knees, the biomechanics, and even his posture, his chest and all of that," he said.

    "It's the little things that they're working on," Reyes added.

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      More than the physical aspect of Sotto's development, Reyes is also looking forward to seeing how the former UAAP Juniors MVP will fare against top-notch competition which, to him, can only make the Filipino prodigy a better player overall.

      And that's certainly what he's going to get in the NBA G League select team.

      "I want him to get an opportunity to play against real top-caliber competition, and he's getting a lot of runs in the NBA G League," he said.

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      "Being around Jalen Green and all that, everyday he's going to get daily top-level competition and good practices. That's what Kai needs. He needs to toughen up and sa Tagalog nga, kailangan niya mabugbog and play against people who are bigger, stronger, and better than he is that he'll never get here."

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        Sotto taking the developmental league's new professional pathway puts Sotto in the best position to achieve his dream of being the first homegrown Filipino player to make it to the NBA, the five-time PBA Coach of the Year awardee said.

        "For now, that's the best option because the people behind the NBA G League are also the NBA people," he said. "This is a project of the NBA so it's good strategically for Kai to be there so he's already in the NBA radar and part of the NBA family.

        "Its going to improve his chances of eventually getting drafted in the NBA."

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