Yasutaka Okayama

Japanese basketball coach and former player

Yasutaka OkayamaPersonal information

Born|  (1954-11-29) November 29, 1954 (age 70)
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
Drafted by| Golden State Warriors
Playing career| 1979–1990
Position| Center
Coaching career| 1993–present
Career history
As a player:
1979–1990| Sumitomo Metal Sparks
As a coach:
1993–1995| Sumitomo Metal Sparks (assistant)
1996–1999| Osaka University of Commerce (assistant)
Career highlights
As player:

* 2× JBL Scoring Leader (1981, 1982)
* 5× JBL Best Five (1979–1983)
* 3× JBL Rebound Leader (1979, 1981, 1982)

Stats at Basketball Reference

Medals

Representing  Japan
Asian Games
| 1982 New Delhi | Japan
William Jones Cup
| 1986 Taipei | Team

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.

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]

* Sports portal

* Rui Hachimura
* Wataru Misaka
* Yuta Tabuse
* Yuta Watanabe

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Draft Oddities". NBA.com.
2. ^ "1981 NBA Draft". Basketballreference.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2006.
3. ^ "Rising Sun creates Japanese first". BBC Sport. November 2, 2004.
4. ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz (20 May 2015). "Hoop hero Okayama reflects on lost chance". The Japan Times. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
5. ^ Wizards' Rui Hachimura becomes first Japanese player ever taken in NBA draft's first round, Yahoo Sports, 2019
6. ^ "Sports Just magazine, April–May issue 2005". Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
7. ^ Tanoshii Basuketto Boru

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Japan

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