While waiting for the NBA G League Ignite to plunge into action in February, Kai Sotto has plenty of things to keep him busy in between his daily workouts.
Setting up basketball academy and selling apparel that’s named after the 7’2” Filipino player has been keeping Sotto on his toes over the past month.
He has began working on organizing the Kaiju Academy last December, located inside Spooky Nook in Hamilton, Ohio.
Spooky Nook is a a1.3 million-square-foot sports facility that is under construction in a building that used to be a paper mill.
Once done, Sotto said this will fulfil his dream of being able to teach basketball to young athletes on a global scale.
The facility will be finished later this year.
Kaiju is a Japanese term for monster, beast and strange creature.
“And it perfectly captures the ideal basketball competitor that I aim to be,” said Sotto in an online statement.
Last December, the 18-year-old Sotto began selling shirts named after him and his academy. Supplies are almost sold out.
“Sa mga kapwa kong Pinoy sa Pilipinas na nagtatanong, inaayos po para magkaroon ng local store na puwedeng magdala ng next batch,” said Sotto on Instagram.
Team Ignite will be among the 18 teams taking the court in February, with NBA G League set to go on at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.
Five-time NBA champion Brian Shaw will coach Team Ignite, comprised of elite NBA Draft-eligible players.
The top eight teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff.
Sotto is with Elite prospects teammates Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd, Daishen Nix, and Princepal Singh. They have been training with Shaw in Walnut Creek, California for their debut game since August.
Because of this, Sotto won’t make it to the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in February.
