Supernova Hachimura: An "atypical" Japanese player

Hachimura @Xinhua News Agency

Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Xu Bei

The Japanese team lost miserably! This is the first lesson that the real NBA gave to Yatsumura. 1 and a half minutes before the finale, Hachimura had already put on a short-sleeved T-shirt on the bench, he held his face, his eyes were red, and the camera of the big screen on the scene was aimed at him, but Hachimura stared at the field, no expression. Japan trailed the United States by as many as 62 points and lost the last group game 45-98. The game against real NBA players also brought Asia's supernova Hachimura back to its original form — he scored only four points on 2-of-8 shooting in the entire athletic game.

Hachimura's spoken English level can subvert your accent bias against Japanese people speaking English, he speaks with a nasal voice and a sense of rhythm, and with his looks, you will not treat him as an East Asian. He is indeed not the kind of Japanese athlete we are familiar with, for example, after the mixed interview area after the game, Hachimura will not bow to the Japanese press corps first, and then be interviewed, even if the reporters whisper his name, Hachimura will go straight back to the dressing room without turning back.

Japan wants to quickly improve the level of basketball in a short period of time, and the tactic of "gene introduction" has reappeared. A mixed-race player like Yamura May not have brought immediate changes to Japanese basketball for the time being, but his appearance is almost like the popular manga "Slam Dunk Master" that changed Japanese basketball culture. In this World Cup, Japan's reporters are the largest number of people from the four countries in Group E, and the fans are also in the number of games in which the Japanese team participates, almost turning the Oriental Sports Center into Japan's home stadium. The young Hachimura will also bring more to Japanese basketball, and this summer is his start: "It's crazy. I was selected and then went to [Washington], D.C., for mini camps, playing summer leagues, and now playing the World Cup. It's been a crazy summer, but I've always had fun. I play a lot of games everywhere and I don't know how much I've improved, but I have more confidence in myself. Next, I'm excited about the NBA's next season of games. Hachimura said.