Who comes to mind when you think of basketball players from Japan? In the past, fans may only think of characters in the two-dimensional world, such as Sakuragi Hanamichi, Akira Sendo, and Kaede Ryugawa. In recent years, however, many fans' priorities have shifted back to the real world.
In fact, in addition to football, Japanese basketball has actually entered a stage of development after the new century, and many basketball players have emerged. Combining the strength and influence of the players, the author will take stock of the top ten players in the history of Japanese basketball in this article for reference. Of course, if there is a choice of beads or discussions, please also leave a message in the comment area to discuss.
10. Fifty Arashi Kei
In Japanese basketball, Kei Igarashi has a rare speed and excellent organizational skills. In addition, due to his handsome appearance and elegant style, Igarashi Kei enjoys a high degree of popularity and recognition in the Japanese sports world, and is nicknamed "Basketball Noble Prince", which is one of the most representative basketball idols in the history of Japanese basketball.
In terms of strength, Kei Igarashi is by no means a vase player. Taking the 2009 Asian Championship as an example, Igarashi Gui averaged 10.5 points, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, outperforming liu wei, Hu Xuefeng, Sun Yue, Li Xuelin and many other point guards familiar to Chinese fans.
9. Takeuchi Kosuke
In the Japanese basketball world, the Takeuchi brothers are a very famous pair of basketball brothers. Both are 205cm tall and both are interior players. Kosuke Takeuchi is the older brother and has been a regular for the Japanese national team since the university league. Compared with his younger brother Takeuchi, Takeuchi Kosuke achieved worse success in the league. However, in terms of national team career, Takeuchi's performance has always been quite stable. At the 2009 Asian Championships, Kosuke Takeuchi averaged 13 points and 6 boards per game, making him Japan's top scorer.
8. Takeuchi makes concessions
The height of the inside players has always been a tough problem in Japanese basketball, and before the rise of the Takeuchi brothers, the two tallest players in the Japanese basketball team were Toshio Ito in 202CM and Goku Furuta in 199CM. It is conceivable that when Yao Ming of 226CM appears in front of them, how much pressure there is on attack and defense.
The height of the 205CM is indeed very average, but the Takeuchi brothers are already considered to be the top players in the Japanese basketball industry in the past. Compared with his brother, Takeuchi's achievements are slightly higher, he is more inclined to attacking players, and his skills are more comprehensive. Whether in the university league or the Japanese professional league, Takeuchi has long been a popular regular in the MVP list.
7. Ryota Makii
In "Slam Dunk Master", the nickname of "Aichi Star" belongs to the stars. Returning to the real three-dimensional realm, this nickname belongs to Ryota Sakurai, a basketball player whose names are taken in Sakuragi Hanamichi, Mitsui Shou, and Miyagi Yoshida.
When he first represented the Japanese team, Sakurai Ryota became the bitter master of the Chinese defenders, and once used speed to crush the national players such as Liu Wei, Sun Yue and Zhang Yunsong in the training competition. At the 2006 World Championships in Japan, Sakurai Ryota's performance is believed that some veteran basketball fans will be impressed. As a point guard, his style of play is similar to That of Chen Jianghua, with a strong desire to break through and a burst of speed. In the years that followed, Sakurai was also selected for the Japanese national team several times and appeared in many Asian competitions.
Sixth, the rich and courageous tree
After Isamu Takuya, Tomiki Tomiki is another small legend in the history of Japanese basketball. Back in July 2014, Tokiki represented the Dallas Mavericks in the Summer League, setting a record for the shortest player in summer league history with a height of 167cm. After the Summer League, the Dallas Mavericks offered a non-guaranteed contract to Fu Jian Yongshu, who had performed well in the Summer League. However, before the season began, Toki ken was still cut.
After returning to Japan, Toki Ken played for Akita Kita Joy and Chiba Jets. It is worth mentioning that in the history of Japanese professional basketball, Tomoki Tomiki is the first professional basketball player to receive an annual salary of more than 100 million yen, which is enough to be a reference for strength. As a mini point guard, Toki Kenki's long-range shots are accurate, and he has also delivered good performances in recent Fiba competitions.
Fifth, the horse farm is majestic
Among the new generation of Japanese players who have been active in recent years, The Stables, who plays as a guard, is considered to be a player whose strength is relatively close to the NBA level. Back in the summer of 2019, The Racecourse was signed by the Lone Ranger to compete in that year's Summer League. He was cut by the Mavericks shortly before the start of the new season that year.
At the 2019 World Cup, Henzaga played in 5 games for Japan, averaging 25.5 minutes per game, averaging 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition to Yamura and Yuta Watanabe, Yudai Baba is the most threatening player in Japanese basketball. In terms of physical fitness and offensive and defensive conversion performance, Baba Yudai presented a level far beyond the conventional Japanese national players.
4. Yuta Taba
In the history of Japanese basketball, and even in the history of Asian basketball, Yuta Tian is an extremely inspirational basketball player. In NBA history, Yuta Tian was the first guard player from Asia. Yuta Tian is only 174cm tall, which is not dominant even among ordinary people in the Asian range.
Looking back on Hisata's high school career, he studied at the traditional Japanese basketball school Noshiro Kogyo, the original form of Yamano High School in "Slam Dunk Master". As the core of the team, Yuta Takumi has been named the best player in the Winter Cup for three consecutive years, thus making him famous in Japan. In college, he went to study alone at Brigham Young University Hawaii in the NCAA D2 League, which was a precedent for the development of Japanese players in the United States.
After finishing college, Yuta Tian returned to Japan to compete in the JBL League, winning the league rookie king in his first year. As a diminutive point guard, Tian Ishime is known for his superior skills and jump shot skills. Back in July 2003, Yuta Tian ignited the fighting spirit to challenge the NBA. In the summer of that year, he played in the summer league for the Lone Rangers and Nuggets, and then received a formal contract from the Phoenix Suns and successfully landed in the NBA. In the 04-05 season, Tian Wo Yongtai played four games for the Suns, with a total of 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and did not have the opportunity to officially appear in the NBA after the season.
In terms of strength, Tian Wo Yongtai actually has no outstanding advantage over the asian first-class defenders of the same era, and can successfully join the NBA with the bonus of commercial influence, but this does not prevent Tian Wo Yongtai from establishing his own influence. To this day, in the history of Japanese basketball, he is still the best spokesperson for the topic of chasing dreams.
3, Takuya Kawamura
For this Japanese player, veteran fans who have been following FIBA events and Asian basketball for many years should not be unfamiliar. Once upon a time, Kawamura was also the ace player in Japanese basketball. As a scoring guard, Kawamura also rose in 2005. Since then, he has been the ace player of Japanese basketball until the rise of a new generation of players such as Yamura and Yuta Watanabe.
In the history of the Japanese basketball league, Kawamura has also won the title of scoring champion four times. To add, before Kawamura Takuya, the title of scoring champion in the Japanese JBL League had been taken by foreign aides. In the Asian context, Kawamura's heyday was also a first-class echelon in terms of strength. His style of play is a star style of play, and the action of holding the ball is quite flowing and smooth. At the 2009 and 2011 Asian Championships, Kawamura was also the top scorer in Japan. Back in the 2011 Wuhan Asian Championship, in the match where the Chinese team defeated the Japanese team 84-58, in the case of Sun Yue and Liu Wei taking turns to watch the defense, Kawamura Zhuo also cut down 24 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and personally contracted nearly half of the Japanese team's firepower, which is enough to be a witness to strength.
2. Yuta Watanabe
At the age of 20, Yuta Watanabe, who is famous in Japan, chose to study at George Washington University and hone herself on the NCAA field. At prestigious George Washington University, Yuta Watanabe played for four full seasons, with 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 blocks in his senior year. However, considering that he is an older rookie plus a yellow man flanking player, Yuta Watanabe still lost the 2018 draft.
After losing the election, Yuta Watanabe did not give up his dream of chasing the NBA and turned to the summer league to look for opportunities. In December 2018, Yuta Watanabe joined the NBA Memphis Grizzlies on a two-way contract and managed to survive tenaciously for two years with the Grizzlies. In December 2020, Yuta Watanabe joined the Raptors on a two-way contract for the 20-21 season.
Judging from the current performance, Yuta Watanabe has used her efforts and strength to win a place for herself in the NBA. Coming to this season, Yuta Watanabe was on the Raptors' regular rotation list. In the last five NBA games, Yuta Watanabe played 18.8 minutes, paying 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal, which was remarkable. Based on the current strength assessment, it is no exaggeration to call Yuta Watanabe the first small forward in the history of Japanese basketball and the best small forward in Asia. In the Asian FIBA arena, the duo of Yuta Watanabe and Yamura cannot be underestimated.
1. Rui Hachimura
At the 2019 Draft, Yamura was selected by the Washington Wizards with the ninth pick in the first round, creating history in the history of Japanese basketball. As of press time, Hachimura has played two seasons in the NBA and played a total of 60 times, and the data report card is temporary: averaging 29.8 minutes per game, contributing 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists, the overall shooting rate is 46.5%, and the three-point shooting rate is 30.5%.
In the history of Japanese basketball, Hachimura is undoubtedly the most influential and powerful basketball player. Within the scope of Asian basketball history, Hachimura's current performance is already at the top. Considering his age, Yamura, who is a dual-energy front, still has a certain amount of room for improvement. In terms of the national team, Yamura has become a banner figure in Japanese basketball since the 2019 Basketball World Cup. At the same time, his mixed-race identity label also symbolizes the program or trend of Japanese sports in recent years.