MANILA – Did Filipino-American guard Jalen Green play a vital role in Kai Sotto’s decision to skip college ball and join him in the National Basketball Association (NBA) G League’s select team?
According to a report by Kentucky Sports Radio, Green personally “hand-picked” Sotto as teammate in G League’s newest squad which will be based in Southern California and will be unaffiliated with any of the existing teams in NBA.
The select team, also known as the professional pathway program, pays 18-year-old elite prospects to play in the G league if they are not yet eligible to declare for the NBA Draft.
Green and Sotto are expected to play 15 games in the league aside from receiving training from ex-pros and elite coaches.
The friendship of the two developed since they met twice in the Chooks-to-Go National Basketball Training Center National Finals held in the Philippines.
They also texted each other when Green visited the country last year.
Green became the first cager to join the select program, while Sotto turned out to be the first international to do so.
Yesterday, Sotto formally announced his G League move.
“I spent the past year here in the United States (US) improving my skills, building my body and gaining the confidence to play against the best basketball players around the world. Now, I have to take the next big step towards my NBA dream. I’m very proud and excited to announce that I will be joining the NBA G-League select team,” Sotto said.
“I will be playing with some of the very best, and I’m committed to work on developing my game in a much bigger stage,” he added.
The 7-foot-2 Sotto has been working out for The Skills Factory in Atlanta, Georgia, US since last year, and his new move closes the opportunity for giant collegiate basketball teams and European ball clubs to recruit him.
Aside from Green, Sotto’s other teammates in the squad are top high school recruits Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix.
Sotto is the third Filipino player to compete to ball in the G League after Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Talk ‘N Text KaTropa’s Bobby Ray Parks Jr./PN
