G League coach Shaw likens Kai Sotto to Nikola Jokic

Many basketball fans and pundits by now have realized that Filipino wunderkind Kai Sotto possesses a skill set just as unique as his height.

Thankfully, his new head coach with the NBA G League Select Team also thinks the same way, which can only bode well for his journey to the big league itself.

“Kai, I think a lot of the bigs that are in the NBA right now, I think he has the ability to play like Nikola Jokic,” said coach Brian Shaw, formerly a championship-winning guard with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Obviously I haven’t had the chance to be around him yet, but from the film I’ve watched on him, it looks like he can shoot the ball from the outside, he can be a facilitator where you can put him on the top of the floor, give him the ball and do dribble hand-offs much like Jokic.”

Indeed, the resemblance to Sotto’s and Jokic’s skill sets are uncanny. Although Sotto has not run plays as frequently as his All-NBA-caliber comparison, the 7-foot-2 teen star can stay composed off double teams and dump it inside or out for an open cutter.

(READ: Path for Kai: Non-US players over 7-foot-2 who thrived in the NBA)

In his final year in the UAAP, Sotto averaged 3.4 assists on top of league-best norms of 25.1 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. He came in second only to his good friend Forthsky Padrigao, who topped at 6.8 helpers per game for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets.

This carried over to the international scene at the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Greece, where Sotto averaged the third-most assists at 2 per game for Gilas Youth, only behind guards Dave Ildefonso (3.7) and Gerry Abadiano (2.1).

He also posted 11.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and a staggering 3.1 blocks to round out his impressive run in the top youth meet.

Meanwhile, Jokic has continued to lead all NBA big men in dimes this year, as he is currently averaging 20.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists for the Denver Nuggets.

More encouragingly for Sotto, his block numbers seem to be trending up way higher than Jokic, who has  somewhat lacked the defensive prowess to support his elite offensive skills.

Of course, life for Sotto in the G League and possibly the NBA will be much more difficult, but nevertheless, the early returns have been promising, and Shaw is looking forward to honing his new big man once they have settled down.

“I see him as a guy that’s pretty versatile. Obviously he has to get stronger, but I think that he can play with his back to the basket as well as facing the basket and facilitate for his teammates,” he said.

“So I think if Kai puts in the work, obviously he’s gotta spend a lot of time in the weight room getting stronger with our strength and conditioning coach, I think he has the aptitude to play the game and has a high basketball IQ.” – Rappler.com