Kai Sotto Thread

[CoJ2]

I'm convinced most people don't watch actual games and just base their opinions on stats and "highlights". It was a couple of bad games which honestly could have gone worse. At least he showed good hands and made his shots on the first game. Made good use of his length and blocked some shots. But he looked so slooow and was often out of position and sometimes looked like he's lost. I don't even want to comment on the second game. They said he was injured hopefully not a sign of things to come.

And people still commenting he should have been made the focus of the offence, get more minutes etc. SMH

Same sentiments, a number of journalists and vloggers (who leech off Kai) hype the heck out of that 1st game where Kai posted 6 pts, 4 rbds and 3 blocks, claiming that his output is close to Wemby's stat. Furthermore, they also argued that Kai would have scored more (like wemby) if he was given additional minutes. Damn, vloggers and peenoise has no concept of stamina.

Another annoying narrative that the media and vloggers have floated is Kai is a great defender due to those blocks (despite limited minutes), there's more to defense than blocks, kai can't even box out properly nor defend the pick and roll properly.

Heck even Bill Velasco is floating the narrative that being Asian has something to do with it, though he pointed out the lag of experience among Asians compared to Euro and American counterparts


https://www.philstar.com/sports/2023/07/17/2281515/lessons-nba-summer-league

 

[impracticaljokers20002]

It's starting to look like Kai is going the Ben Simmons route. Lots of hype, realized he's really not good enough, play a bit for clout then will shut it down & dog it hehe.

But for real if he's really serious about his basketball career he should be all in in this world cup and give everything he has. Coach Rajko on point in this one.

 

[DAdmiral2]

I'm super tired of all this stuff, I'm going to change my tone from here on, rather than cite the obvious ( Kai's super far from NBA material, no one should need to be convinced about this, either you know levels or not) , we should just focus on what Kai needs to do , to incrementally get better, whether that's improving his impact for Gilas or B -league , so be it. the NBA is the least to discuss at this point. If we never seriously discussed BRP NBA chances after a more productive SL , then we shouldn't discuss Kai with the NBA.

on comparisons with wemby, well Wemby is predicted to win the NBA defensive player of the year within 2 years. while Kai is viewed as can't make the NBA primary due to his defensive deficiencies (Not offense) , enough said. with that you can throw away all stat comparisons , they become meaningless in that context.

 

[greenarcher2]

We have seen what he can do when he goes "all in".

If he doesn't do anything to improve himself then that's it. He won't suddenly turn into superman in the WC.

 

[thatweirdguy2]

Same sentiments, a number of journalists and vloggers (who leech off Kai) hype the heck out of that 1st game where Kai posted 6 pts, 4 rbds and 3 blocks, claiming that his output is close to Wemby's stat. Furthermore, they also argued that Kai would have scored more (like wemby) if he was given additional minutes. Damn, vloggers and peenoise has no concept of stamina.

Another annoying narrative that the media and vloggers have floated is Kai is a great defender due to those blocks (despite limited minutes), there's more to defense than blocks, kai can't even box out properly nor defend the pick and roll properly.

Heck even Bill Velasco is floating the narrative that being Asian has something to do with it, though he pointed out the lag of experience among Asians compared to Euro and American counterparts


https://www.philstar.com/sports/2023/07/17/2281515/lessons-nba-summer-league

He looked awkward and I was relieved that his shots went in. Dunno if the blocks though are sustainable but I don't think he'll ever be a good rebounder. It's just not his strengths.

Yeah I saw a lot of pages just posting his statline and highlights people concluding that he had a breakout game.. and it's just plain embarrassing what they had done to the Magic's FB page.

 

[B L A C K S U N2]

I'm super tired of all this stuff, I'm going to change my tone from here on, rather than cite the obvious ( Kai's super far from NBA material, no one should need to be convinced about this, either you know levels or not) , we should just focus on what Kai needs to do , to incrementally get better, whether that's improving his impact for Gilas or B -league , so be it. the NBA is the least to discuss at this point. If we never seriously discussed BRP NBA chances after a more productive SL , then we shouldn't discuss Kai with the NBA.

on comparisons with wemby, well Wemby is predicted to win the NBA defensive player of the year within 2 years. while Kai is viewed as can't make the NBA primary due to his defensive deficiencies (Not offense) , enough said. with that you can throw away all stat comparisons , they become meaningless in that context.

Pretty sure that's what we've been doing all these years, but we get labeled as "haters" or "anti pinoy" for pointing out his flaws and what he needs to improve to be a better player but hey

 

[zairex2]

Pretty sure that's what we've been doing all these years, but we get labeled as "haters" or "anti pinoy" for pointing out his flaws and what he needs to improve to be a better player but hey

Well from what I saw here, everytime Kai had a good game or has invited to a camp, the emphasis is on other stuff that show negative. Like Kai had a low +/-, or low rebound or 1% only chance to be in SL after mini camps. Yet when he got bad game, I see alot more statements about how bad he is. It like when gilas lost to Cambodia everybody hate the system then when we win not a single compliment on the system
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How about balance? Not focus on just one side.

 

[Juan Lun2]

It's a normal reaction to the hype and exaggeration the Kainatics were spreading

 

[zairex2]

It's a normal reaction to the hype and exaggeration the Kainatics were spreading

I Don't agree on takes of hypers here but same thing is being done on the other side us well. They act like everything they say are correct without any facts to back them up. Like Kai is not hardworking. How can you say that when the kid has been playing without a off season? He might not have Abueva motor but he is being doing alot of work to achieve his dream.

 

[Rds2]

I think Kai’s family chose the short term more lucrative offer over the best for his long term development. In hindsight, Europe should have been the best for him. Improving his skills and fundamentals away from the lime light. But I guess the money was less than the Ignite route. Time and time again Kai’s handlers do big publicity moves that dont actually help in his development. Basically the Summer league was just to drive high engagement. But did it actually help Kai? No.

The NBA is a pipe dream that only benefits guys who profit from the engagement Kai brings. Toroman is correct. Kai needs to get in a league that he can average 30 mins. He will never develop of he only plays 15 to 20 mins. But thoses gigs will be lower level than NBL or B league. This will lower his reputation and hype. But at this point thats what he needs. The hype should go down to the level of his current ability. Just forget about his management, fanatics and content creators that celebrate any NBA related event. Kai has massive fundamental holes in his game like stamina and outside shooting. He needs to work out on those rather than make others money from his hype.

 

[Juan Lun2]

I Don't agree on takes of hypers here but same thing is being done on the other side us well. They act like everything they say are correct without any facts to back them up. Like Kai is not hardworking. How can you say that when the kid has been playing without a off season? He might not have Abueva motor but he is being doing alot of work to achieve his dream.

I guess it shows on the court, I remember B League playoffs and I was expecting Kai to play all out.. Instead he played lethargic considering he only played less than 15 mins.. We understand that Kai easily gases out but we can't help conclude that he isn't working hard enough when he can't play consistent aggressive basketball every game even for just 5 to 10 mins

 

[zairex2]

I guess it shows on the court, I remember B League playoffs and I was expecting Kai to play all out.. Instead he played lethargic considering he only played less than 15 mins.. We understand that Kai easily gases out but we can't help conclude that he isn't working hard enough when he can't play consistent aggressive basketball every game even for just 5 to 10 mins

I will just discuss his low motor and hardwork here. I didn't understand why he was this slow and low motor. Because watching him play from U16 to NBL, he was not this slow like the SL. Even look at his stint with Gilas, he was blocking shots getting rebounds and even challenging Al Wahdi.

As he said, he was injured since B.league with his Back. Also maybe the added weight, might have also slow him down. I hope he continue his progress and try reaching his dream whatever the outcome.

 

[Juan Lun2]

I will just discuss his low motor and hardwork here. I didn't understand why he was this slow and low motor. Because watching him play from U16 to NBL, he was not this slow like the SL. Even look at his stint with Gilas, he was blocking shots getting rebounds and even challenging Al Wahdi.

As he said, he was injured since B.league with his Back. Also maybe the added weight, might have also slow him down. I hope he continue his progress and try reaching his dream whatever the outcome.

Well I think those are excuses since Kai hasn't logged a lot of minutes since he started B-League and a lot of days off in between his last game in B-League to his short SL stint.. and the irony is he wanted to keep playing (hence the b-league stint) in order to keep in shape come Summer League and now it backfired and became more of an excuse..

I think he had a burnout mentally though from all the pressure from fans and media and the ups and downs of the DNP games in SL.. Physically, I think he is ok but he needs a vacation from all of the hype and pressure bestowed upon him.

 

[CoJ2]

or maybe the kids at the summer league are at a higher/different level, which made Kai look slow and lethargic. In the Asian level, Kai could easily contend with the likes of Al Wahdi. But in the NBA Summer League, these are different, higher level athletes. There's a reason why only a handful of Asians are in the NBA's radar.

Simply put Usain Bolt is fast, but if you put him next to the Flash and Quicksilver, he'll just look normal

 

[greenarcher2]

or maybe the kids at the summer league are at a higher/different level, which made Kai look slow and lethargic. In the Asian level, Kai could easily contend with the likes of Al Wahdi. But in the NBA Summer League, these are different, higher level athletes. There's a reason why only a handful of Asians are in the NBA's radar.

Simply put Usain Bolt is fast, but if you put him next to the Flash and Quicksilver, he'll just look normal

This. His former opponents during his younger days progressed/improved faster and greater than him. His improvement is incremental compared to other players his age. He stagnated to put it shortly.

He may look decent against Asian teams but is obviously slower against import-caliber players.

What's the point of praising his strengths? At the end of the day, none of his strengths matter if his downside weigh more. The only thing that matters is if or when he will be able to outplay his fellow imports in Japan. The SL shut down the excuses of PeeZones that the style of play and referee calls in Japan are the reason for his mediocre performance. I am grateful to Orlando for this. The Kainatics can no longer claim that Kai's style is better suited in the NBA. This fallacy is DEAD.

The door to another SL stint or a G-League stint is not closed. But it will only re-open once Kai plays someone worthy of a call-up. Otherwise it will be another token face-giving exposure ala consuelo de bobo to Wasserman.

 

[JOI2dWorld2]

It's starting to look like Kai is going the Ben Simmons route. Lots of hype, realized he's really not good enough, play a bit for clout then will shut it down & dog it hehe.

But for real if he's really serious about his basketball career he should be all in in this world cup and give everything he has. Coach Rajko on point in this one.

Lol Ben Simmon with a proper mindset is a good player and elite defender ,Kai is not even close to Zhou Qi routes or any asian counterparts that was able to play at the very least one official nba regular season game, Ben was a 1st overall pick, ROY , All NBA 3rd team and 2 time All-Defensive first team and 3x all star, something that Kai can only dream of, yes the guy now do not have proper mentality to play basketball, but saying that Kai's route is similar to Ben Simmons is just outright disrespect to what he was able to achieve in the few years that he was serious about playing, and as far as a homegrown player nba career path is concern BRP Jr's is still the one reached the farthest, and at this point is still the biggest what if, well maybe if he did not chose to play for NU and was drafted he will be like Jordan Clarkson or Jalen Green who only considered as nba player with a filipino lineage but not a homegrown , the guy was a 4 star recruit even rated higher than Jordan Clarkson , and like what i said in my other post that rich filipinos that can afford to sponsor a young talented prospect that has the tools to make it to the NBA would rather choose to recruit this player to schools or teams that they are affiliated with

 

[JOI2dWorld2]

This. His former opponents during his younger days progressed/improved faster and greater than him. His improvement is incremental compared to other players his age. He stagnated to put it shortly.

He may look decent against Asian teams but is obviously slower against import-caliber players.

What's the point of praising his strengths? At the end of the day, none of his strengths matter if his downside weigh more. The only thing that matters is if or when he will be able to outplay his fellow imports in Japan. The SL shut down the excuses of PeeZones that the style of play and referee calls in Japan are the reason for his mediocre performance. I am grateful to Orlando for this. The Kainatics can no longer claim that Kai's style is better suited in the NBA. This fallacy is DEAD.

The door to another SL stint or a G-League stint is not closed. But it will only re-open once Kai plays someone worthy of a call-up. Otherwise it will be another token face-giving exposure ala consuelo de bobo to Wasserman.

No the delusion continues as some even have the guts to compare his first game and Victor's first game and has the audacity to say that kai did better in relation to the playing time given, after the boston game i am waiting if someone will try to compare his second game to Victor's second game that happened to be against the team that Kai played against his first game.

I watched spin pov yesterday and i can really see the difference between how a foreign basketball mind and a filipino mind, Coach Raiko spits facts with no holds barge and give an honest opinion about kai, while Jerry though gave good insights but with a little bit of sugar coating, though most hate Snow but what he said is also true, that the current best NBA player is a very versatile and skilled big man and there is an incoming player who is not just skilled but also very tall that if Kai has what it takes most of these team will fall in line to get his service as someone that can be use to defend against these talented centers but NBA teams do not see anything yet with Kai that can make them sign him, in which most delusional fans cannot see, and like what Coach Rajko, Coach Tim and others say he needs to play in WC as gilas will give him the opportunity to show what he can do against good and world class opponents as he will be one of the centerpiece of the team and not just someone who will be given token minutes

 

[impracticaljokers20002]

Lol Ben Simmon with a proper mindset is a good player and elite defender ,Kai is not even close to Zhou Qi routes or any asian counterparts that was able to play at the very least one official nba regular season game, Ben was a 1st overall pick, ROY , All NBA 3rd team and 2 time All-Defensive first team and 3x all star, something that Kai can only dream of, yes the guy now do not have proper mentality to play basketball, but saying that Kai's route is similar to Ben Simmons is just outright disrespect to what he was able to achieve in the few years that he was serious about playing, and as far as a homegrown player nba career path is concern BRP Jr's is still the one reached the farthest, and at this point is still the biggest what if, well maybe if he did not chose to play for NU and was drafted he will be like Jordan Clarkson or Jalen Green who only considered as nba player with a filipino lineage but not a homegrown , the guy was a 4 star recruit even rated higher than Jordan Clarkson , and like what i said in my other post that rich filipinos that can afford to sponsor a young talented prospect that has the tools to make it to the NBA would rather choose to recruit this player to schools or teams that they are affiliated with

You typed all that not realizing I didn't even say his talent is anywhere near Simmons. Bruh I feel for you.

It's similar this way. Overhyped, not performing well when it matters most, capitalizing on workout videos or highlights dominating inferior competition to somehow stay relevant. Do you understand?

 

[JOI2dWorld2]

You typed all that not realizing I didn't even say his talent is anywhere near Simmons. Bruh I feel for you.

It's similar this way. Overhyped, not performing well when it matters most, capitalizing on workout videos or highlights dominating inferior competition to somehow stay relevant. Do you understand?

you cannot compare Kai to Ben SImmons as he may not lived to what people expected him to be, at the very least he achieved something in his nba career and he can still somehow be a good player if his mind will shape up as he already has the talent, while Kai has not achieve anything yet as far as the NBA is concern, i totally understand that you are talking about hype and not living to it but Kai would rather choose what Simmon has achieved than what he has on his career

 

[thatweirdguy2]

This. His former opponents during his younger days progressed/improved faster and greater than him. His improvement is incremental compared to other players his age. He stagnated to put it shortly.

He may look decent against Asian teams but is obviously slower against import-caliber players.

What's the point of praising his strengths? At the end of the day, none of his strengths matter if his downside weigh more. The only thing that matters is if or when he will be able to outplay his fellow imports in Japan. The SL shut down the excuses of PeeZones that the style of play and referee calls in Japan are the reason for his mediocre performance. I am grateful to Orlando for this. The Kainatics can no longer claim that Kai's style is better suited in the NBA. This fallacy is DEAD.

The door to another SL stint or a G-League stint is not closed. But it will only re-open once Kai plays someone worthy of a call-up. Otherwise it will be another token face-giving exposure ala consuelo de bobo to Wasserman.

I kept seeing people posting how they hope Kai would get back to playing like his TSF days. That he looked very athletic and skilled back then compared to now. Well maybe because he's playing against people who actually plays basketball for a living and not a bunch of randos?