NBA Draft Prospect Kai Sotto Talks Spurs, Love for Tim Duncan
The San Antonio Spurs have been notorious for selecting international players in the NBA Draft. But since general manager Brian Wright took over in 2019, the team has moved toward establishing home-grown collegiate players that most fans have at least some familiarity with.
Still, the international player pool in this year's draft is hard to ignore. There's one player many Spurs fans have already taken a liking to, and luckily, it seems that the feeling is mutual.
Kai Sotto, a 7-3 center from the Philippines who played for the G League Ignite during the 2020-21 season, has had the Spurs on his radar for some time, headed into the 2022 NBA Draft on June 23. In 2020, he spoke with NetsDaily.com about which team he'd like to join as he began his long draft process.
"I want to say the Spurs, but the Spurs are not in the playoffs anymore," Sotto said.
While there wasn't much further discussion on San Antonio's present success given the lack of recent postseason appearances, Sotto proved he's knowledgeable about Spurs lore when talking about the legendary Tim Duncan and how he's inspired him as a rising prospect.
"I really look up to Tim Duncan," Sotto said. "I always see him as this player that doesn’t need to trash talk his opponents, doesn’t complain – that’s just me. Seeing him always locked in, and he’s a winner. That’s what I want to be."
You don't hear that kind of praise for Duncan from most young bigs, as the Big Fundamental is often overlooked by rising prospects in favor of former players that offer a more flashy and exciting inspiration. But praising the greatest player in Spurs history will only heighten fans' desire to snag Sotto with a second-round pick.
The Spurs likely won't use one of their three first-round picks on the Philippines native. Sotto offers versatile defensive skills as a shot-blocker with nice offensive upside, though he'll need to get stronger to keep pace with bigs at the NBA level. Most projections have him falling into the second round, where the Spurs might be able to snag him at pick No. 38.
But San Antonio will have to play its cards right after Sotto's agent admitted that one NBA team has already promised to draft him should he stay available.
"And we actually already have commitments from at least one team that said if he stays in the draft, we'll draft him," Sotto's agent said. "We have that already."
Where Sotto has a leg-up compared to other international prospects in this year's draft is his experience in the G League with the Ignite. Before leaving the team in Feb. 2021 to go play for the Philippines internationally, he got to showcase his skills alongside exciting players from the 2021 draft class like Rockets guard Jalen Green and Warriors forward Jonathon Kuminga.
Sotto's second-round projection would an excellent value pick for the Spurs after snagging some surefire talent with three picks in the first round. With his love for the Spurs and Duncan already known, his potential relationship with the team could be meant to be.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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