Kai Sotto is keeping his fingers crossed, hoping to finally get a chance to step on the court instead of just warming his seat on the Orlando Magic bench.
The 7-foot-3 center hopes to get his number called when the Magic take on the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association Summer League Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Filipino fans’ eyes will also be glued to the 8:30 a.m. (Manila time) game while waiting to see Sotto strut his wares after riding the bench during their 78-89 loss to the Detroit Pistons last Sunday.
Orlando coach Dylan Murphy opted to stick with lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard with five-year NBA veteran DJ Wilson and Robert Baker II getting the bulk of the minutes at the frontcourt.
The 21-year-old Sotto’s presence could have helped the Magic at the shaded area as they were outrebounded by the Pistons, 47-29.
Still, Sotto remains in high spirits.
“The coach talked to me before the game, I think there were five (players) whom he talked with,” Sotto said in an interview with United States-based journalist Homer Sayson.
“He told us that rookies and contracted players will be given the chance to play, especially in our first game. Of course, they also want to prove their worth and it also happened to other NBA teams so it was really understandable.”
The Magic are facing a Pacers side that is coming off a 91-83 win over the Washington Wizards.
Should Sotto play against Indiana, he will be up against the likes of Isaiah Jackson and Oscar Tshiebwe.
Jackson, drafted 22nd overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, poured out a double-double effort of 21 points and 14 rebounds while Tshiebwe, who currently has a
two-way contract with the Pacers’ G League team Fort Wayne Mad Ants, scored five points and two rebounds coming off the bench.
Nate Laszewski, a 6-foot-10 center from the University of Notre Dame, could also see action after getting benched by Indiana in the previous game.
“All of the guys here are more athletic and it’s just a different game,” said Sotto, who had a good showing against DeAndre Ayton, Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns in a preseason match last year.
