Kai Sotto will not be the lone Filipino who will play in the National Basketball Association Summer League starting 7 July in Las Vegas.
Filipino-American Kihei Clark will see action for the Utah Jazz in the annual showcase in a bid to land a roster spot in the regular season of the NBA.
Clark, whose Filipino mother Sharon hailed from Ilocos before moving to Hawaii, was undrafted during the recent NBA Rookie Draft and is looking to prove his worth in this year’s Summer League.
The University of Virginia alum averaged 10.7 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in his final season with the Cavaliers.
In his five years with the Cavaliers, he won a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 title in 2019, was named All-Atlantic Coast Conference Third Team member in 2020 and 2023 and an All-ACC All-Defensive Team player in 2023.
He is no stranger to the Philippines as he teamed up with Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green back in the 2018 National Basketball Training Center Division 1 High School All-Star Game for FilAm Sports where he faced Sotto, who will also play in the Summer League for the Orlando Magic.
Like Sotto, Clark did not participate in a pre-draft workout with the Jazz. Instead, he trained with the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets.
Clark will join Jazz reserves Ochai Agbaji, Micha Potter, and Luka Samanic as well as No. 9 pick Taylor Hendricks and No. 16 Keyonte George.
He will first play in the Salt Lake Summer League from 3 to 6 July in Utah where he will face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Then in the NBA Summer League, the Jazz will be playing against the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the reigning NBA champions, Denver Nuggets.
