Japanese Basketball On The Rise?
Japan has never been known as a basketball country and rightfully so. There has for a long time been seemingly little interest in the sport compared to other athletic events. This could be due to a multitude of reasons such as other western team based sports already being more established or traditional Japanese sports such as karate or kendo drawing athletes attention. It could even be the relative lack of height in Japan compared to the U.S or Europe. For whatever reason, Basketball has yet to truly take off in Japan, however it is slowly growing in infrastructure for young talent to thrive. Could this explosion of fandom be coming soon with the emergence of a Japanese superstar and what are some other elements that may lead to the growth of the sport in Japan?
B. League
Japan has a variety of successful sports leagues in the country, drawing thousands of viewers each day. The most notable and by far the most dominant is the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) league. This league is able to pack stadiums, like the Tokyo dome which has a capacity of over 50,000 and have thousands of viewers tune in from home. The foundation for competitive teams sports is definitely in place for a national basketball league to be sucessful.
The B.League is a newly formed league that had its inaugural season in 2016. It is actually the combination of two former competitors: The Super League and the bj league. This was somewhat a forced merger by FIBA who saw the disorganization of the organizing bodies in Japan. Two leagues with little direction. FIBA enforced this merger by suspending The Japan Basketball Association and banning Japan’s national teams from international play. This put immense pressure on the two competing leagues to merge into the B.League we see today. This has been an important event for basketball development in Japan, as there is now a clear hierarchy in the sport.
The B.League is separated into three divisions, with eighteen teams in Division 1 and Division 2. The third division consists of only twelve teams. With major company sponsors like SoftBank supporting the league, things are looking bright for the future of the highest level of Japanese domestic basketball.
B.League Website:
Upcoming International Events
Japan has not had strong showings on the world stage for quite sometime. As such has lost its allure in Japan and recognition abroad. It has been over 40 years (1976), since the Men’s National Team has made an appearance at the Olympics, and the Women have never finished higher than 5th (also in 1976). The men’s team has been so lackluster, they have only made 4 FIBA world championships since 1963.
However what is exciting is the opportunity for both the men and women to be at the highest stages of the sport in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The men were able to qualify for the 2019 FIBA world cup after a strong performance in the qualifiers, despite being 48th in world rankings. Some of this can be attributed to a more structured professional leagues that, thus raising the level of competition. The women placed 9th at last years FIBA World Cup.
As the host nation for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games both the men’s and women’s team are guaranteed a spot. The remaining teams have had to qualify through various tournaments. With traditionally strong teams like Spain, France and The U.S.A, it will be difficult for them to medal. A strong passionate performance, would definitely win the heart of fans who to be honest don’t have the highest of expectations.
The buzz for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has definitely started to ramp up with the lottery for tickets. Here are some links where you can find the necessary information regarding ticket sales.
2019 FIBA World Cup Tickets:
Tokyo 2020 Ticket Information:
A Japanese Superstar?
It seems for a sport to really take off in a country, a player from said country must become a star on the worlds premier stage, the NBA and basketball is no exception. Take a look at China with Yao Ming or Spain with the Gasol Brothers. Japan has yet to produce a NBA top level talent, with I'm sure many wondering hey… has there ever been a Japanese NBA player? The answer would be yes and there is actually one currently on the Memphis Grizzlies roster.
The first to ever make a NBA team was Yuta Tabuse, a 5'8" PG with seemingly little elite level talent, at least by NBA standards. He became the first Japanese basketball player to make an official roster and play in a game on November 3rd 2004. Despite being waived after only four games, it helped foster dreams that it could be possible for Japanese nationals to make the highest stage in basketball. Since Tabuse-san made it, two others: Yuta Watanabe and J.R Henderson (American/Japanese) have made the league.
These players helped pave the way, but have had no where near the hype or expectation that a potential lottery pick has in the upcoming NBA draft. Yes all the hype for the 2019 NBA draft has been centered around Zion Williamson and to a lesser degree Ja Morant. However, one player that could also have a wide-reaching effect is Japanese national, Rui Hachimura.
Looking at Rui, its easy to see he is of mixed blood, his mother being Japanese and his father Beninese. He is one of many “hafusu” that have made a splash in the world of athletics, others being Namoi Osaka and sprinter Asuka Cambridge. Don’t get it twisted though, Rui was born and raised in Japan, having played basketball all his life there, until committing to play for Gonzaga.
Right now Rui is projected to be in the top half of the 2019 NBA draft that takes place next week on Friday, June 21st. A strong two way wing player that has been compared to Kawhi Leonard, the recent NBA Finals MVP. In a league that has been dominated by two-way wings for most of the modern era, it is no surprise that teams see a lot of potential in Hachimura. If he develops into what his potential projects, he could be the first Japanese NBA star. He played for the collegiate powerhouse school Gonzaga for the past three seasons, averaging: 19.7 PPG, 6.5RPG on .591% shooting. He makes smart decisions and uses his superior strength to bully defenders. Can he keep on building from this and become a star? All of Japan is rooting for him to succeed and put Japanese basketball on the map.
Of course there are no guarantees with anything in life, especially not professional sports. However this recent change to the domestic league, coupled with the many international events paints a bright picture for the future of Japanese basketball. The emergence of Hachiman as a potential NBA star has definitely brought a renewed life into interest of sport that went somewhat stale in Japan since the end of the Michael Jordan craze.
If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at Shotarohmoore@hotmail.com
