Kai Sotto is in the news again. No surprise there. For a teenager with a height of 7-foot-3, every move he takes is headline-grabber—almost always. Every breath he takes is oxygen to an expectant throng hoping for the kid’s success in every endeavor he’d fancy.
The world is there, at his fingertips.
He could still grow two, three, inches more. Who knows? He isn’t even 20 yet. And we are supposed to stop gaining height at 21, 22.
At 19 years of age, Kai’s height attracts like light to a moth.
At 19 years of age, Kai’s mountaintop view seems reserved exclusively for one in a million endowed with such a gift.
At 19 years of age, Kai’s ceiling practically overshadows whatever uncanny trait he has up his sleeves.
For a Filipino to be that tall, Kai stands out from the crowd—naturally.
He doesn’t have an American for a father. But his Dad, Ervin, standing 6-foot-7, is already an exceptional height by Filipino standards.
And Kai has a mother towering above six feet, too.
That easily explains Kai’s unusual altitude.
And the awesome part of it is, Kai’s parents are true-blue Filipino.
So that if and when Kai finally crashes into the NBA (National Basketball Association), he will own the distinction of being the first homegrown Filipino to play in the world’s No. 1 basketball league.
Robert Townsend, the first NBA player with Filipino lineage, was an inter-marriage product. Both Jordan Clarkson and Jaylen Green, active NBA stars at the moment, have Filipino blood running in their veins.
There’s another super-active Fil-Am entity in the NBA: Erik Spoelstra, the champion coach of the Miami Heat, whose mother is from San Pablo, Laguna. Spoeltra’s Heat is presently in the thick of battle in the NBA playoffs.
And what was it that Kai did to grab headline news lately?
He entered the NBA Draft to join the league’s next season.
It’s a long shot for Kai, who currently plays in Australia, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23+ games for Adelaide.
Uphill climb Kai faces because he is out of the cutoff mark for prospective draftees, hoping of no-shows by other candidates for him to get in.
“Please pray for and support me during my quest to fulfill my ultimate dream,” wrote Kai in his Instragam.
So young, already motivated. Prayers for him.