(1954-11-29) November 29, 1954 (age 69) 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:
2× JBL Scoring Leader (1981, 1982)
5× JBL Best Five (1979–1983)
3× JBL Rebound Leader (1979, 1981, 1982)
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 7'8" (233 cm), 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]
^"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)
YasutakaOkayama (岡山恭崇, OkayamaYasutaka, born November 29, 1954) is a Japanese former professional basketball player and coach. He was selected by the...
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