The Orlando Magic are known for its top-notch scouts overseas, who played an instrumental role in discovering international gems like Marcin Gortat and Franz Wagner in the past.
The Magic Scouts knew what they got all along when they invited Kai Sotto to play for their Summer League team last summer.
Sotto, a 7-foot-3 big man from the Philippines, has been making noise in the Japan B.League as of late, posting dominant numbers against teams reinforced by former NBA players and prospects.
These Kai Sotto highlights posted by Yokohama Corsairs are just too good! ????
????: Yokohama B. Corsairs / Instagram stories
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— GMA Sports (@gmasportsph) March 30, 2024
After dealing with a back injury through the first few months of the season, Sotto’s numbers slowly began to take off until he got his breakout game against the Chiba Jets last February 20, where he posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. He followed that up with a better output the next day, racking up 26 points and 11 rebounds against the same team.
Sotto continued his upward trajectory in the following weeks, chalking up doubles-doubles and setting new milestones the following weeks. Last March 30, he scored a career-high 28 points against perennial Japanese league contender Alvark Tokyo,
The 21-year-old prospect is averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 23 games for Yokohama B.Corsairs this season.
Before joining the B.League, Sotto played two seasons for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia’s NBL. He also teamed up with young stars Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga as part of the first batch of the G-League Ignite program, which offered a pathway for young talents to play pro straight out of high school instead of going to college.
Sotto went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, though he still received an invite to play for the Magic’s Summer League team in 2023 where he saw limited minutes.
Kai Sotto finally made his Summer League debut and his first bucket!
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— Pack Mamba (@Pack_Mamba) July 14, 2023
Despite having played a ton of basketball already, Sotto will just be 22 in May. If he continues to put up jaw-dropping performances for the remainder of the season, this youthful big man may be headed for another Summer League callup.
