LAS VEGAS – The Filipino pride Kai Sotto finally made his debut in the NBA Summer League against the Portland Trailblazers. The 21-year-old finally sees his first action against the best young stars in the NBA. Sotto, who has been benched (DNP) in Orlando Magic’s first three games immediately made a great impression in his first Summer League game earlier. The Kaiju showed his presence with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 assist in 3-for-7 shooting in just 13 minutes of playing time. With such a strong debut game, will Magic’s Summer League coach Dylan Murphy field Kai Sotto in their fifth and last game in the 2k24 Summer League?
Kai Sotto felt he had a pretty solid outing against the Blazers
When asked by Spin.ph’s Homer Sayson on how he would rate his recent performance, Kai thinks he was “pretty solid with the minutes he was given”. The young big man also added that he is ready and has to stay ready, especially when it’s time for him to prove his worth to be the first full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA. In the Magic’s last three games, Sotto was listed as DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) following the remark that coach Dylan wanted rookies to be the highlight of the tournament. But, in his debut, Sotto’s three (3) block shots stood up which received a lot of praise from Dylan Murphy.
“I thought he did well. He protected the rim really well with a couple of block shots, nice finishes,” Dylan Murphy giving huge praise to Kai Sotto, as per Spin.ph. “Credit to him for staying ready and being able to perform, that’s not always the easiest thing [after the DNPs],” said the Magic coach. “He has a great attitude, a hard worker, so he did well today for sure.”
In 13 minutes of action, Kai Sotto did very well and made the most out of it. But, will Sotto be playing once more in their fifth game against the Boston Celtics on Friday?
Since the beginning of his Summer League journey, it was reported that Kai Sotto was not given any guarantee. No guaranteed minutes nor guaranteed contracts. He has to prove that he is NBA-ready in the eyes of coaches and GMs. Despite his impressive debut, coach Dylan Murphy still can’t guarantee that Kai will play against the Celtics tomorrow. According to Murphy, they will be making that decision very soon.
The Orlando Magic has lost their last four games in the 2k24 Summer League. But, the team will be awarded a fifth and final game after failing to qualify for the playoffs. The team is set to face off against the Boston Celtics featuring young stars Justin Champagnie, Udoka Azubuike, Jay Scrubb, Justin Bean, and JD Davison.
Will we see Kai Sotto play on Saturday? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. For more content, stay with us here at Spiel Times. Make sure you subscribe to our push notifications and never miss an update. You can also follow us on Spiel Anime, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Until next time!
