Yasutaka Okayama (岡山恭崇, Okayama Yasutaka, born November 29, 1954) is a Japanese former professional basketball player and coach.[1] He was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 171st pick of the eighth round of the 1981 NBA draft, although he did not sign with them.[2][3] At 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m), he is the tallest player to be drafted in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Okayama was the only player from Japan drafted in the NBA until Rui Hachimura was selected in the 2019 NBA draft.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | November 29, 1954 Mashiki, Kumamoto | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Japanese | |||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) | |||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 330 lb (150 kg) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Kyushu Gakuin (Kumamoto, Kumamoto) | |||||||||||||||||
| College | Osaka University of Commerce | |||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1981: 8th round, 171st overall pick | |||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Golden State Warriors | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1979–1990 | |||||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | |||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1993–present | |||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1990 | Sumitomo Metal Sparks | |||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Sumitomo Metal Sparks (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Osaka University of Commerce (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||
As player:
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Medals
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Okayama practiced judo at junior high school and high school, and obtained a second degree black belt. He started playing basketball when he was eighteen at Osaka University of Commerce. In 1975, when his height was about 2.08 metres (6 ft 10 in), he was recruited by the University of Portland; he spent two years there, but a medical check revealed gigantism and he never played for the varsity team.[4] After graduation, he joined the Sumitomo Metal Sparks basketball club. He represented Japan between 1979 and 1986 before he retired in 1996.
After being selected in the 1981 NBA draft, Okayama opted to stay in Japan.[5]
As of 2005, he worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries and was active as a basketball coach.[6]
Okayama wrote a book for young basketball players in 1989.[7]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Draft Oddities". NBA.com.
- ^ "1981 NBA Draft". Basketballreference.com.
- ^ "Rising Sun creates Japanese first". BBC Sport. November 2, 2004.
- ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz (20 May 2015). "Hoop hero Okayama reflects on lost chance". The Japan Times. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Wizards' Rui Hachimura becomes first Japanese player ever taken in NBA draft's first round, Yahoo Sports, 2019
- ^ Sports Just magazine, April–May issue 2005 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 7, 2008)
- ^ Tanoshii Basuketto Boru
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