The Philippines has been longing for a homegrown NBA player for a long time. They do have the likes of Raymond Townsend of the Golden State Warriors, Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz, and even Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets. The nation known for its love of basketball may have finally gotten its wish. Kai Sotto has been picked to play for the Orlando Magic in the NBA Summer League.
Kai Sotto had been preparing for the NBA since his stint with The Skills Factory. He eventually went to Australia's NBL and had a decent run with the Adelaide 36ers. Finally, he got called up to the NBA as the Magic gave him a spot in their NBA Summer League roster.
He's expected to play with other rookies who were lottery picks like Anthony Black and Jett Howard. However, he has still not received any minutes in the two games that Orlando has played. A lot of the Filipino and Magic faithful were obviously disappointed.
Fans who were present inside the Las Vegas arena could not help but chant, “We want Sotto!”
As the game wrapped up, more fans became disappointed. They took to Twitter and explicitly stated their dismay toward the Magic coaching staff.
“The Orlando SL coach will get jumped the next time he visits a Jollibee,” a fan wrote.
Others even recalled the time Sotto faced NBA-caliber talent against the Phoenix Suns.
“Kai Sotto played with a regular NBA roster and scored 11 points, & grabbed 5 rebounds but can't play in the summer league with a bunch of G league guys and rookies? Come on man. this is rigged,” they said.
Will the Filipino basketball star get a chance to ball out in the NBA Summer League?