A three-time NBA champion coach believes the door remains open for Kai Sotto to make it to the world’s biggest basketball stage.
Phil Handy, assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, said it’s just a matter of timing before the 7-foot-3 Sotto realizes his personal and the entire country’s dream to see a homegrown Filipino to make it to the NBA.
See After hectic few weeks, Kai Sotto plays the waiting game
“It could be this summer. It could be next year. It really depends on the opportunity,” said Handy, who is in Manila to conduct basketball clinics and share his knowledge with elite local school teams and the Converge FiberXers.
“Sometimes players’ opportunities come at different times,” he stressed.
At present, Sotto is awaiting invitations to play in the NBA Summer League after attending mini-camps by the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, and the New York Knicks.
The 51-year-old Handy, who won NBA titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, and the Lakers as part of the three team’s coaching staff, added he’s been monitoring Sotto for the past few years and sees a promising player in the 21-year-old center.
“I believe he’s very talented. I don’t believe in putting timelines on athletes,” said the former NBA player. “I’ve had a chance to see him play for a couple of years. He’s naturally gifted.
“He spent some time down in Australia and that really helped develop his game.”
Handy incidentally, ended the final two years of his playing career in the NBL with the Melbourne Tigers and the West Sydney Razorbacks.
As for his advice to Sotto?
“Keep working, keep playing, and keep being ready for the opportunity,” said Handy, who previously worked with NBA superstars Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, and the late Kobe Bryant.
Also the Lakers leader in player development, the 6-foot-5 Handy began his Philippine tour on Tuesday with a clinic at the Philippine National Police Academy in Cavite.
The Phil Handy Tour goes through the Philippines and Singapore and organized by CST Accountants and Advisors, which has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, London, and here in the country,
The clinic is its first international sporting event.
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